American & European Art

Provenance:

Galerie Marc Stammegna, Marseille

Private Collection, purchased from the above, 2001

Sold: Sotheby's, New York, May 9, 2014, Lot 71

Acquired at the above sale

Sold: Sotheby's, New York, November 1, 2017, Lot 45

Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Literature:

Pierre Dieterle, Martin Dieterle, and Claire Lebeau, Corot: cinquième supplemént à L'Oeuvre de Corot, Paris, 2002, pp. 30-31, no. 27, illus.

Lot note:

The decade following 1834 was one of fervent production, from which Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot developed his own style as a landscape artist. Traveling throughout France, Corot explored the geographical conditions of the diverse regions and studied the topographical and ecological lighting differences of the various areas. The large hill in Paris known as Montmartre, where Corot painted only three known works of art, was famous for its rich and artistic history as a home where many artists lived and worked. Additionally, the painting, Montmartre, Mur et Moulin, is unique as one of a few landscape works depicting the structure of the city from an elevated vantage point, similar to works painted between 1840-1845 in the French city of Lormes. The windmill depicted in the center right of the painting is distinct in his representation of Montmartre, with windmills found in the two other landscapes Corot painted of Montmartre.