Souvenir of Mortefontaine, 1864 Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (1796-1875)

We create our paintings with museum quality and covering the highest academic standards. Once we get your order, it will be entirely hand-painted with oil on canvas. All the materials we use are the highest level, being totally artist graded painting materials and linen canvas.

We will add 1.6" (4 cm) additional blank canvas all over the painting for stretching.

High quality and detailing in every inch are time consuming. The reproduction of Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot also needs time to dry in order to be completely ready for shipping, as this is crucial to not be damaged during transportation.
Based on the size, level of detail and complexity we need 8-9 weeks to complete the process.

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We not stretch and frame our oil paintings due to several reasons:
Painting reproduction is a high quality expensive product, which we cannot risk to damage by sending it being stretched.
Also, there are postal restrictions, regarding the size of the shipment.
Additionally, due to the dimensions of the stretched canvas, the shipment price may exceed the price of the product itself.

You can stretch and frame your painting in your local frame-shop.

Once the painting Souvenir of Mortefontaine is ready and dry, it will be shipped to your delivery address. The canvas will be rolled-up in a secure postal tube.

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The painting presents a quietly unfolding scene on the banks of a serene lake, where a woman in a red skirt and two children are framed by tall, gently swaying trees. The vista stretches into a hazy distance, evoking the stillness of a location hardly touched by the rhythms of daily life. In the foreground, the trio appears absorbed in their surroundings, anchoring the composition with a sense of human presence and reminding us that, even when idealized, nature can provide a refuge for contemplation.

Subdued grays and muted greens dominate the color palette. The painter’s careful modulation of tonal values creates an atmospheric effect, subtly shifting from near darkness beneath the branches to the milky luminosity of the distant water. In this measured use of color, the artist achieves a sense of poetic reverie rather than dramatic contrast. The inclusion of a subdued pink in the woman’s clothing adds a point of warmth, quietly drawing the eye toward the central figures. This understated chromatic variation underscores the overall tranquility of the piece rather than forcing any abrupt interplay of hues.

Soft, deliberate brushwork shapes both the foliage and the luminous background. In certain areas, especially along the water’s edge, the strokes become more suggestive than precise, hinting at the scene rather than painstakingly delineating it. Yet the trees retain a certain crispness—particularly the trunk on the left, whose trunk and branches are so firmly outlined that one senses the artist’s residual Realist inclinations. This marriage of suggestion and definition is characteristic of the painter’s later style, anticipating the loose, light-infused brushwork of the Impressionists while retaining a gentle fidelity to natural forms.

The composition effortlessly draws the viewer’s gaze from the tall trees at the right edge toward the open sky and the shimmering lake in the background. The slightly off-center positioning of the large trunk on the left seems to balance against the denser grouping of trees on the right, enveloping the figures in a natural cocoon. This compositional choice focuses our attention not only on the human presence but also on the interplay of foliage, water, and sky.

Created during a time when French art was on the cusp of shifting from Realism to Impressionism, this work reflects the artist’s bridging of both worlds. Although he gathered inspiration from the very real environs of Mortefontaine, the painting appears as a recollection—a distillation of calmness that transcends any specific location. Indeed, the subtle techniques and thoughtful arrangement of elements transform a simple lakeside view into a thoughtful reflection on the solace found in nature.