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Which literary and religious subjects appeared in Camille Corot’s Salon paintings?
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Camille Corot
Portrait de l'artiste, assis près d'un chevalet (“Portrait of the Artist, Seated Near an Easel”), oil on paper pasted on canvas by Camille Corot, 1825; in the Louvre, Paris.
In the early 19th century, finished landscapes intended for public exhibition at the Salon were considered more dignified if they incorporated small figures representing heroic characters from literature, legend, or the Bible.1
Camille Corot utilized these figures in an incidental manner to enhance his compositions. Specific examples of his Salon paintings featuring these subjects include:1
- Biblical subjects: Hagar in the Wilderness (1835) and Christ in the Garden of Olives (1849).1
- Literary and legendary subjects: Diana Surprised by Actaeon (1836) and Homer and the Shepherds (1845).1