The Eel Gatherers

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, 1860/1865

Four people wearing earthy brown gather near a stream that runs through a lush forest carpeted and filled with moss, pine, and sage green trees and undergrowth, interlaced with thin, willowy tree trunks in this horizontal landscape painting. The forest fills the composition and the scene is dominated with tones of green, even in the reflections in the water. The stream runs from the lower right corner into the distance near the right side of the canvas. The trees and undergrowth are painted with blended brushstrokes, giving the scene a soft and hazy glow. Near the lower left corner, a woman kneels and helps a baby take a step toward a young girl, who approaches the pair with something gathered and held up in her apron. A boy climbs a tree nearby. A fifth person appears after close inspection, standing in and bending over the stream in the distance to our right. The scene is diffusely lit, with only a few bright spots in the canopy of the trees to suggest sunlight and sky beyond.
Artist
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot
Date
1860/1865
Type
Painting
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
60.5 × 81.5 cm
Collection
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Licence
Public domain, CC0

Image description

Four people wearing earthy brown gather near a stream that runs through a lush forest carpeted and filled with moss, pine, and sage green trees and undergrowth, interlaced with thin, willowy tree trunks in this horizontal landscape painting. The forest fills the composition and the scene is dominated with tones of green, even in the reflections in the water. The stream runs from the lower right corner into the distance near the right side of the canvas. The trees and undergrowth are painted with blended brushstrokes, giving the scene a soft and hazy glow. Near the lower left corner, a woman kneels and helps a baby take a step toward a young girl, who approaches the pair with something gathered and held up in her apron. A boy climbs a tree nearby. A fifth person appears after close inspection, standing in and bending over the stream in the distance to our right. The scene is diffusely lit, with only a few bright spots in the canopy of the trees to suggest sunlight and sky beyond.

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot