CAMILLE COROT (1796-1875)
Puy de la Tache (1,629m - 5,344 ft)
France (Auvergne)
About the painting
This painting by Corot entitled Montagnes d'Auvergne is probably the Puy de la Tache (Puy of the Task) not to be confused with Puy de la Vache (Puy of the Cow) also painted by Corot in his series untitled Montagnes d'Auvergne. Those attributions, however, must be taken with care, nothing more like an Auvergne volcano than another Auvergne volcano !
The mountain
The Puy de la Tache (1,629m - 5,344 ft) is located in the Massif Central in the Puy de Dôme department. and is part of the Chaine des Puy. which are ancient volcanoes. It dominates the pass of the Cross Morand. A short walk back and forth from the pass allows you to climb to the top. No difficulty apart steep slope in places but the climb is done without any problem. Nice view of Lake Guéry and many other volcanoes when the sky is clear. You can also extend the hike by following the ridges and climbing on several other volcanoes.
The painter
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (1796-1875), French landscape and portrait painter as well as a printmaker in etching, is a pivotal figure in landscape painting. His vast output simultaneously refers the Neo-Classical tradition and anticipates the plein-air innovations of Impressionism.
Camille Corot, no doubt attracted by the mythical aspect of Monte Soratte, painted it several times during his first stay in Italy between 1825 and 1830. Three of these representations are published in this blog today; although all painted between 1826 and 1827, they are very different from each other, they were painted at different times of the year ant different hours of the day as he used to do. The first presented here, apparently painted during summertime, has an almost Cézanian appearance !
Indeed, with his parents' support, Corot followed the well-established pattern of French painters who went to Italy to study the masters of the Italian Renaissance and to draw the crumbling monuments of Roman antiquity. A condition by his parents before leaving was that he paint a self-portrait for them, his first. During his stay in Italy, Corot completed over 200 drawings and 150 paintings !
Corot learned little from the Renaissance masters (though later he cited Leonardo da Vinci as his favorite painter) and spent most of his time around Rome and in the Italian countryside. The Farnese Gardens with its splendid views of the ancient ruins was a frequent destination, and he painted it at three different times of the day, like Monte Soratte. The training was particularly valuable in gaining an understanding of the challenges of both the mid-range and panoramic perspective, and in effectively placing man-made structures in a natural setting. He also learned how to give buildings and rocks the effect of volume and solidity with proper light and shadow, while using a smooth and thin technique.
In his aversion to shocking color, Corot sharply diverged from the up-and-coming Impressionists, who embraced experimentation with vivid hues.
The works of Corot are housed in museums in France and the Netherlands, Britain, North America and Russia.
2018 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau
