The Dreamer (Le Songeur)

In this enigmatic scene, Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot uses energetic lines to describe a variety of forms and textures, particularly in the two trees in the foreground. Yet the surface of the print itself has the smoothness of a photograph, a hallmark of cliché-verre printmaking, which uses photographic technology to create etching–like images. An artist takes a pointed instrument such as an etching needle and draws onto a glass plate that has been coated with an opaque substance. Light-sensitive photographic paper is placed behind the plate, and both are exposed to the sun. Sunlight passes through the plate’s etched lines and leaves a dark impression on the paper, transferring the image. Invented in the 19th century, cliché-verre was popular among Barbizon artists such as Corot, since its ease and convenience made it an ideal medium for working outdoors.