Jean Baptiste Camille Corot

Jean Baptiste Camille Corot (1796-1875) was a French landscape painter who played a pivotal role in the development of Impressionism. He was born in Paris and showed an early aptitude for painting, receiving his first lessons from Achille Etna Michallon. In his early career, Corot was heavily influenced by the classical landscapes of 17th-century painters such as Claude Lorrain and Nicolas Poussin. However, his work became more experimental over time, incorporating loose brushwork and a more naturalistic approach.Corot is perhaps best known for his plein air landscapes, which were executed on the spot and captured the changing effects of light and atmosphere. His paintings often featured tranquil, idyllic scenes of forests, rivers, and lakes, and he had a particular affinity for the rural landscapes of Normandy and Italy. Corot's influence on the Impressionists was considerable, and his emphasis on capturing the "impression" of a scene rather than its exact representation paved the way for the movement's revolutionary approach to painting.