COROT: Women

The landscape painter Corot is not primarily known for his portraits of women, but this Washington National Gallery catalogue celebrates a significant body of work which the author argues places Corot ahead of his time in the modernist school of portraiture. Corot was noted for his respect for his models and they treated him as a father-figure, a far cry from the stereotype of seduction and exploitation associated with model-artist relationships in the later 19th century. Unlike his contemporaries, Corot preferred a model to move about during a sitting, so that inevitably the finished portrait was not the capture of a moment but a representation of the play of transitory moods. Four authoritative essays by Mary Morton, David Ogawa, Sebastien Allard and Heather McPherson bring the reader developments in Corot scholarship. Figure paintings occupied his final two decades from 1855 to 1875 but they were rarely exhibited during his lifetime. After Corot's death his friend Mary Cassatt was a strong advocate for his figure painting with collectors. The portraits fall into three categories: nudes, single figures in costume, and a late series of allegorical figures. Corot used photos to achieve realism, a technique still in its infancy, and his nudes were attacked by critics and buyers who wanted something more idealised, though his figures have since been compared with the realism of Courbet and Manet. Corot's favourite model was Emma Dobigny who also sat for Degas and Puvis de Chavannes. Among his costumed figures, "The Blonde Gascon" impressed 20th century admirers with the sheer physical authority of the figure, particularly the face, while "The Algerian Woman" has strong features and a direct gaze looking out from the swathes of her headdress. Corot's studio portraits include a series of models involved in the act of painting, transfigured by cultural associations. 179pp, 99 reproductions including 45 full page colour plates.
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