Expert: Jeni Andrews-Fraser - 2/21/2008

Question
Hi. I have what I believe is a print  of "Dances of the Nymphs" by Jean-Baptiste Camille
Corot. It seems to be printed on thick , almost cardboard-like, paper. It sat in my
grandmother's attic for many years in it's original frame with the glass broken in one
corner. It also has the title printed on a strip of paper on the bottom middle of the
frame.  I've tried to research it at the library and on the internet but I'm having no luck.
Could you please give me some history on what type of prints there are of this painting
and how far they date back? Also, the picture is very dull from age and I was
wondouring what I could use to clean it?

Thanking you in advance for considering my questions.
Lorna Tougas  

Answer
Hello Lorna - I am sorry to be late in responding to your question - my computer 'died' and was only resurrected this morning.  I think your best bet is to take your print to a local fine art dealer - he (or she) will be able to verify its provenance and advise on the cleaning of it.  

As for prints - well, once an artwork has passed from the original to a printed format, it tends to become rather more universal.  I doubt anyone would be able to tell how how many, what type and how far back prints of your Corot are in existence.  There are many media - books, newspapers, articles  .. even the internet!

The history of print dates begins with lithography (in a commercial sense) - and among the better known lithographers (in France - where Corot is from) are Toulouse-Lautrec, Jules Cheret and Alphonse Muchas (although they are slightly later than Corot.)

Corot was a founder-member of the Barbizon school - a loose community of painters working at Barbizon, a village on the outskirts of the Fontainbleu Forest - who sought a kind of realist approach to painting: painting what they saw, not adding historical, mythological or heroic references.  Corot painted landscape - working out of doors, directly in front of the motif.  His practices are inspirational to Impressionism.

Sorry I can't be more helpful on your print, but goodluck in your quest.

Cheers

Jeni