La Vache a l'Abreuvoir

The dealer who sold George Holt this late work by Corot for £650 in 1892 described it as ‘a perfect gem’ and predicted that ‘Mrs Holt and daughter will prize it very much if they don’t fall in love with it at first sight. The scene is full of tender poetry and it is in every way a connoisseur’s picture’. Holt was following a contemporary fashion for Corot among English and American collectors. This painting was given the title above by the great Corot scholar, Albert Robaut. It was sold to Holt as 'The Lake near Ville d'Avray'. Corot lived at Ville d'Avray outside Paris in the latter part of his life but there is no evidence for the precise location of this scene. A thinly painted sketch with the bare panel surface visible in places, its cool tones and feathery style are typical of Corot's late work.