Portrait of an Italian Girl, 1870

About the Work

In this late, yet loosely painted piece, Camille Corot shows a young woman lost in thought. Her melancholic gaze passes the viewer; the light pouring in from the left intensifies her pensive expression. The artist was concerned neither with the vivid reproduction of different materials and surfaces nor with a precise depiction of his model but rather with the mood that the painting is meant to convey.

This is reminiscent of his “fantasy figures” from that same period, which mostly show people in costume. Corot was particularly interested in their states of mind. He also saw them as a mirror of his own emotions. Since this painting is smaller and more closely tailored to the subject, it stands between this group of works and Corot’s portraits.