Le Cavalier sous les Roseaux. Horseman by Reeds. by Jean Baptiste Camille Corot, 1796-1875

Jean Baptiste Camille Corot, 1796-1875
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Le Cavalier sous les Roseaux. Horseman by Reeds.

Original lithograph (autograph) in black ink on tinted paper. 1871. Signed with the artist's stamp. From the edition of 50 impressions. Drawn 'from nature in the landscape' on transfer paper; printed at the studio of Lemercier, Paris 1871. Issued in the series: Douze Croquis Et Dessins Originauxsur Papier Autogaphique, Lemercier 1871. Rare.
Ref: Delteil - Corot Peintre-Graveur no 22

Superb tonal impression. On blue-grey tinted chine applique paper, on a white wove backing sheet, as issued. Generally excellent condition; slight traces of old mounting at the outer edges of the backing sheet. Wide margins. Backing sheet: 141/2x17 l/4ins. China paper/image: 81/2x10 78ins. (217x275mm)

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A beautiful impression in rich black ink on the characteristic slightly blue-tinted chine-applique paper that Corot chose specially.

The great revelation of early 19th century landscape art was the role of light. Previously it had been largely ignored, except in its role of making things visible. It was the interest of the early 19th century landscape painters in capturing 'real natural landscape' which made it a focus of attention. No other single French artist played a more crucial role in focussing attention on light as perhaps the most important element of all than did Corot. His whole art is an essay on the beauty and poetry of light in landscape, and every landscape painter from the 1830's onwards, culminating in the Impressionists, acknowledged their debt to his art.

Throughout Corot's oeuvre drawing played a key role in the contrasts of monochrome strokes, and the variations of shading, he saw a way of expressing every nuance of light from brilliant sparkle to misty glow. In his late period, when printmaking became a medium of particular interest, he was initially frustrated by the need to work away from the open-air. Then, at the beginning of the 1870's, his friend the critic and collector Alfred Robaut introduced him to the medium of lithography worked on transfer paper. Using specially prepared sheets of paper Corot was able to sketch direct from nature in the landscape, translating with the freshness and freedom which was the unique character of his drawing, the full range of the light in landscape. On his return to Paris he could then go to the studio of the lithographic printers Lemercier, transfer the drawings from the prepared paper sheets to the lithographic stone, retouch if necessary, and print the impression. This method of what he called 'autographic' allowed him to use the special qualities of density and translucence which are unique to lithography to develop his 'images of light'.

The lithographs that Corot drew at this period are amongst the most beautiful of all 19th century landscape prints, with the most wonderful glowing sense of light. 'Cavalier sous les Roseaux' is widely recognised as one of the very greatest of this group of works.