Paysage avec lac et batelier

"At the 1839 Paris Salon (a state-sponsored exhibition of contemporary art), Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot presented this painting as “Un soir” (An Evening), suggesting that one appreciate it less as a description of a specific site than as a poetic evocation of a time of day. The fading light softly glows through the trees and reflects off the lake while the two figures disembark from their boat at day’s end. This dark sunset scene serves as a contrast to its companion piece, Italian Landscape, a sunny, peaceful pastoral. The two paintings depict ideal Italian views that juxtapose different times of day. While the pendant is suffused in soft, hazy morning light, this painting’s evening scene is saturated with an array of colors—yellow, lavender, turquoise, and rose—in the sky and water. Landscape with Lake and Boatman was widely appreciated when it was exhibited at the Salon and many critics praised it in their reviews. Among them, French critic and journalist Théophile Thoré (1807–1869) called this painting a masterpiece for “its quality of line and the gentle harmony of its light.” He said, “M. Corot is an austere, meditative man who sees nature as being the same. He needed no lessons for this. Quite naturally he produces calm, sad paintings, full of thought and lofty in character.” "(Getty) This painting was part of the collection of Count Armand Doria and stayed in the Doria family until 1984 when it was sold to the Getty Museum, where it is today. Ce tableau a été présenté au Salon de Paris en 1839 sous le titre "Un Soir" qui invite moins à le contempler comme la représentation d'un lieu que comme celle d'un moment. La lumière déclinante brille avec douceur à travers les arbres et se reflète dans le lac ou deux personnages désembarquent à la fin de leur journée. Ce tableau a un pendant, "Site d'Italie, Soleil Levant", pastoral et ensoleillé, avec lequel il contraste par ses saturations de jaune, lavande, rose et turquoise. Cette oeuvre fut très apprécié lors du Salon ; le critique Théophile Thoré remarque notamment la qualité de ses lignes et la douce harmonie de sa lumière. "Paysage avec lac et batelier" a fait partie de la collection du Comte Armand Doria puis de celles de ses descendants jusqu'en 1984 où la toile est vendue au musée Getty où elle se trouve désormais.