This work from 1831 by Corot, one of the Barbizon painters, illustrates how the individual study of nature in the open air, as practised by the Romantic painters, was a radical departure from all earlier ideas about landscape painting. In this case, even the medium itself was different: Corot painted this on paper and later mounted it on a canvas. The 'Romantic' Corot concentrated on a small piece of 'nature'. In this case, a quarry in Fontainebleau forest. He tried to 're-create' the forms and hues he perceived (mainly a brownish yellow and a range of murky greens) in paint, using a quick, sketchy technique. Here, Corot has created unity by mixing all the colours with a little grey.
SizeH: 33,8 cm
MediumOil on paper, mounted on canvas