Environs of Rome
1866
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot uses vigorous, scribbled lines to build towering, dark trees that frame a distant, ghostly villa on a hillside. Though he paved the way for Impressionism, this 1866 piece harkens back to his early trips to Italy, capturing a moody, atmospheric depth. Corot was the 'cool uncle' of the art world—generous and encouraging to young painters like Pissarro and Morisot. He famously told them to capture the 'first impression' of nature, advice that literally helped name the Impressionist movement.