Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, “Poetry”

Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, “Poetry”

The painting “Poezja” (Poetry) was most likely created between 1865 and 1870, when Corot gained well-deserved recognition as a landscape painter. However, he continued to paint allegorical representations, as seen in this work. Thanks to elements such as the laurel wreath and scroll depicted in the painting, it can be recognized as an allegory of poetry.

The painting references a long tradition of portraying contemplative women, with roots that can be traced back to Albrecht Dürer’s famous engraving titled “Melancholia I.” Corot often portrayed thoughtful women, depicted while reading against a landscape backdrop. The composition depicting poetry stands out among them due to the choice of a dark, neutral background against which the profile of the woman is outlined, illuminated by shining silver laurel leaves. The contrasting light shirt and the white rolled paper attract the viewer’s eye against the browns of the composition.

The authorship of this painting was not questioned and was recorded in the first catalog raisonné, a comprehensive catalog of all known works of an artist, compiled in 1905 by the artist and art historian Alfred Robaut. German art critic Julius Meier-Gräfe also included this composition in his work on Corot’s oeuvre, created 25 years later.

Since the late 19th century, the painting has been in the Parisian collections of Klotz, Jules Paton, and Henri Rouart. It then entered the collection of Adolph Rothermund in Dresden, from where it was acquired by Leo Lewin. Its subsequent owner was Max Silberberg. Forced to part with the painting during the Nazi era, he auctioned it in 1935 at Grace’s salon in Berlin. In 1941, the work was acquired through Hildebrand Gurlitt’s gallery by the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum in Cologne. Based on the Washington Principles, an agreement was reached in 2004 between the descendants of Max Silberberg and the Cologne museum, where we can admire the painting to this day.

Painting Information:

oil on canvas, dimensions: 55 x 45.5 cm, current location: Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Cologne.

Literature: 

Melancholie. Genius and madness in art, catalog wystawy, Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, Paris October 10, 2005 – January 16, 2006 · Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin February 17 – May 7, 2006, Berlin 2006, p. 361.