Seine Landscape near Chatou

In contrast to the powerful realism of light that characterized the first half of his oeuvre, after 1850 much of Corot’s work was devoted to dream-like depictions of atmospheric evenings with water reflecting mild light and subtle transitions from silver-grey to green. Even when particular places are portrayed — Chatou is not far from the painter’s parental home in Ville-d’Avray — Corot still interpreted these, as he himself said, “as much with my heart as with my eyes.”