Artwork
Tower on the Horizon of a Lake (Tour a l'horizon d'un lac)
Tower on the Horizon of a Lake (Tour a l'horizon d'un lac) is a print by the Impressionist artist Jean Baptiste Camille Corot. It dates from 1871 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Tower on the Horizon of a Lake, created by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot in 1871, is a cliché-verre print that embodies the artist's transitional style between Neo-Classical and Impressionist approaches.
Subject & Meaning
The print depicts a serene, dreamy landscape featuring a distant, faintly visible tower at the horizon of a lake, surrounded by tangled, dark tree branches, conveying a sense of quiet ambiguity.
Technique & Style
Characterized by the soft, translucent qualities of cliché-verre, the work leverages light and shadow to achieve depth, resulting in a hazy, sketchy, and ghostly landscape that prioritizes atmosphere over detail.
History & Provenance
Produced in 1871, this piece reflects Corot's role in bridging traditional landscape painting with emerging Impressionist techniques, though specific provenance details are not provided here.
Context
Situated at the cusp of Impressionism, the work's emphasis on capturing light and atmosphere aligns with the movement's core principles, despite its softer, more contemplative interpretation.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (UK: KORR-oh, US: kə-ROH, kor-OH; French: ; 16 July 1796 – 22 February 1875), or simply Camille Corot, was a French landscape and portrait painter as well as a printmaker in etching.
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