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P. 159 x 235 mm; S.
340 x 527 mm
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Paysage
d'Italie
Robaut 3154,
Delteil 32, Melot 32
etching, 1866, on medium-heavy
ivory laid paper with the Aquafortistes watermark, the
rare 1st state (of 4)*, a very fine and rich impression before
letters, with full margins, before the first edition of the Société
des Aquafortistes in 1866, in excellent condition
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Provenance: the Henri
M. Petiet collection, with the HMP wetstamp on the reverse (not cited
in Lugt)
This masterful etching
contains all of Corot's artistic predilections, including the
dark foreground enlivened by minuscule figures, a sombre copse
of trees that serves to frame the city afar, all set against a
vibrant sky.
It is not known why Corot
renounced his participation in the Société des Aquafortistes,
and this, his last contribution, although less dramatic, is thus
especially poignant.
* According to Melot,
there were only a few impressions ("quelques épreuves")
pulled of this first state.
