Marietta

Camille Corot painted this reclining nude during a trip to Italy in 1843, and he even left us a note about it. Scrawled across the top are the words "Marietta a Rome," naming both his model and the city where they met. The subject stretches out across crumpled white sheets, one arm raised behind her head, meeting our eyes with a steady and unhurried look. For an artist celebrated mostly for his hushed, misty landscapes, turning his attention to a single figure like this was something of a departure.

Corot brought his usual soft touch to the work, blurring the outlines and wrapping the whole scene in warm, gentle light. Rather than smoothing Marietta into an idealized goddess, he shows her as a genuine person with a genuine body, relaxed and comfortable in her own skin. The painting stayed out of public view during his lifetime and was probably a private study, made for himself alone. That may be why it carries such a natural, unguarded feeling, a simple record of a real moment between painter and model.