Page 58 - Orient Collection

23. The Painter Ernest DUMAX in ARAB DRESS

Artist: Jean Baptiste Camille COROT, French, (1796 - 1875)
Execution date (approximate): 1860
Téchnique: Oil on Canvas
Measures: 33 x 22.5 cm.
Description: The Painter Ernest DUMAX in ARAB DRESS. An excellent rare and unique
impressionist painting by Corot, (Barbizon school). A Gift from COROT to his friend Dumax.
Was owned by M.Prosper Bobin.

Exhibitions
Royal Academy of Arts in London, in 1869, Dictionary of Contributors and their work from
its foundation in 1769 to 1904,Vol. II, p.170.
De Delacroix A Kandinsky; L’orientalisme En Europe.
Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique 15.10.2010 - 09.01.2011.
Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung, München 28.01.2011 - 01.05.2011.
Musées des Beaux-Arts de Marseilles, 27.05.2011 - 28.08.2011.
(Reunion des Musées Nationaux de France, rmn)

Publications
This Painting is reproduced in “The Works of Corot” by Alfred Robaut, Catalogue Raisonée
Edición Floury, Paris 1905, volume 2,bajo el no.1059, pp.224 y 225, with Title “Le peintre
Ernest Dumax en costume árabe”, Certificate no.2765, of the Expert of the Works of
J.B.C.COROT, Mr. Martin DIETERLE from 29, september 2000.

Biography
Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot came from a wealthy family, and received a high-class education finishing
his secondary studies in Rouen. There he lived alongside a friend named Sennegon, a reader of Jean-
Jacques Rousseau and person close to the illustrated ideas. Corot gained an interest in nature thanks
to Sennegon. Corot continued his formation in Poissy, and once finished, he manifested his intention
to become a painter. His father was however opposed to this decision and decided to hire him as an
apprentice in the family business. Nonetheless, Corot spent most of his working days on paintings,
which made his family accept his vocation and ultimately finance his artistic formation.
Corot joined the studio of Achille-Etna Michallon, a well-known landscapist, and in 1822, the studio of
Jean-Victor Bertin, another landscapist. These apprenticeships brought him dexterity in the principles
of classical compositions that characterize the tranquil and well-structured sceneries that he painted
in Italy between 1825 and 1828. Examples of this stage include Forum (1826; Louvre) and The Bridge
of Narni (1827; Ottawa, National Gallery of Canada).
By then, Corot already begins to show the freshness of execution and the fidelity to the security
of contemplation and sketching in “plein air,” which make him into an undeniable reference for
the impressionists. Examples of this pre-impressionist style, which made him famous, include The
Recollection of Mortefontaine (1864, Louvre Museum). Corot also had the support from the public
officials and many famous writers of the time such as Baudelaire and Gautier who dedicated positive
articles to him.

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