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Description: | Corot is today seen as the bridge between the classical tradition of landscape painting and Impressionism. Breakwater at Normandy is a fine example of Corot's work, which demonstrates this view well. Probably painted on site, Corot used a loose technique to apply the paint, which anticipates Impressionism, creating this small intimate picture in which nature and atmosphere are tangibly captured. While its composition appears to be almost coincidental, much as the composition of some Impressionist paintings can, closer inspection reveals the painting's finely balanced qualities of construction and tone are the result of careful study and experience. Our eye is first drawn to the red hat of the oarsman in the foreground, the only touch of pure primary colour in the picture. Next the white of his shirt alerts us to a second white highlight, the rigging of a passing ship, by the earth bank on the upper right. From here our eye is led through the trees into the overcast sky. Conversely, the balancing of dark areas in the picture around the trees on the riverbank and the rowing boat, which is aligned in parallel with the breakwater in the middle distance, ensures the internal tensions of the composition, retain the painting's freshness. To achieve this effect of spontaneous immediacy, Corot applied to nature the most traditional techniques of classical landscape composition. | Subjects: | landscape | Source: | Vads | Creator: | Artist: Corot, Jean-Baptiste-Camille (French painter and draftsman, 1796-1875) Æ | Identifier: | http://www.vads.ac.uk/large.php?uid=8405... | Go to resource |
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Landscape
Signed: yes Description: This painting…
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