wall label: Corot spent the summer of 1836 in southern France, where he and his fellow painters rose early each day to sketch directly from nature. This view of Villeneuve-les-Avignon with its luminous atmosphere and sense of rapid execution reflects his study in Italy.
Corot was a pupil of Neoclassical painters Michallon and Bertin, whose works also hang on this wall. From them he learned the basics of the French classical landscape tradition, with its emphasis on clearly organized and structured compositions.
On the right is the medieval tower built near the famous Avignon Bridge, now in ruins.