Evening Muse
Artist:
Jean Baptiste Corot
(French, 1796 - 1875)
Place made:Europe
Culture: French
Date: ca. 1855-1865
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
14 3/4 x 10 3/4 in. (37.5 x 27.3 cm)
framed: 21 1/4 x 18 3/4 in. (54 x 47.6 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Lutcher Brown, by exchange
Object number: 58.313
Provenance: Édouard Frère, Paris, by 1889; sold by Édouard Frère at Hotel Drouot, Paris, November 27-28, 1889, lot 207; Quincy Adams Shaw, Jr. (1869-1960), Boston, by 1913; sold by Dalzell Hatfield Galleries, Los Angeles, to Witte Museum, San Antonio, 1958; transferred to San Antonio Museum of Art, 1994
Label Text
Amidst the hush of evening, on the shore of a placid lake, a lone figure greets the twilight. Grays, browns, silvers, blacks, and dark greens dominate the scene, which emphasizes mood, rather than narrative. Is the “evening muse” of the title a nature lover inspired by the setting, or a symbolic representation of the spirit of place itself?
Throughout his long career, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot paid close attention to the effects of nature. Multiple visits to Italy and frequent travel throughout France inspired
his subject matter. Whether historical, mythological, or landscape works, all his paintings reveal an attention to atmosphere and mood. Corot’s works were enormously popular with royal, aristocratic, and middle-class collectors in France during the Second Empire reign of Napoleon III. He was also well known for his artistic and financial support of other artists.
--William Keyse Rudolph, 2018
Throughout his long career, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot paid close attention to the effects of nature. Multiple visits to Italy and frequent travel throughout France inspired
his subject matter. Whether historical, mythological, or landscape works, all his paintings reveal an attention to atmosphere and mood. Corot’s works were enormously popular with royal, aristocratic, and middle-class collectors in France during the Second Empire reign of Napoleon III. He was also well known for his artistic and financial support of other artists.
--William Keyse Rudolph, 2018
On view
In Collection(s)
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
