The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-02-24
oORoT's
Prof. Sprague-Snnfth Lectures Upon
French Art in Hasbroucks.

Prof. Sprague-Smith Lectures Upon
French Art in Hasbroucks.
Prof. Charles Sprague Smith delivered a
thoughtful and scholarly lecture last night
at Aasbrouck Hall, before a large audience,
upon the life and work of Corot, the great
French landscapist. Among the points of
interest in the lecture were these: Jean Bap-
tiste Camille Corot was in Paris in 1896.
His father was a hair dresser who married
a milliner and adopted her trade, sent him
to school at Rouen. and then placed him in a
cloth merchants shop in the Rue de Richie
lieu. But his love for art made him unit
for trade, and he spent his spare moments
under the counter, sketching. He formed a
friendship with the young painter Michallon,
which so far strengthened his determination
tobecome an artist that he plucked upcourage
to tell his father so. Corot pere had sense
enough to assent, but added, IF you insist
upon painting, you will have no capital to
dispose of as long as l live. l will make you
a pension of 81, 500 francs. See if you can
pull through with that" The son,
moved with gratitude, fell upon his fathers
neck and offered him a thousand thanks.
And for thirty years he lived on his $500 IN
come. His first teacher was Michallon, then
Berth. In 1925 he went to Rome, where
Aligny recognized his genius, and caused
OTHERS to respect it. In 1897 his sent his pic
ture to the Salon, and from that time on he
never missed an exhibition. When he re-
ceived his first decoration, Corot pere
doubled his allowance, but never believed in
his sons genius.
He was always open-handed, giving from
the pure impulse of generosity, to all less
favored than he. During the siege of Paris
he gave the greater part of his income n
his time to the relief of his people, spend
ing such leisure as he had in painting, which
alone" said he, "kept me from going mad"
Though he never received adequate recogn1-
ton from the State, a long list of artists and
amateurs subscribed for q gold medal, in
scribed. s'To Corot, his brethren and adj
mirers,' which reached Papa Corot" in his
last illness. With deep emotion he muir
INJURED, "It makes one very happy to be so.
loved" On his death-bed he learned of the
death of Millet, and, though they had been
but acquaintance, at once took steps for the
relief of Millet's destitute family. Just be-
fore he died he dreamed of 'such q beautiful
landscape, the sky-all rose,a and at the last,
as his ~stiffening fingers seemed to grasp the
brush, he murmured happily, 'See how
beautiful it is! l have never seen such beau
tiful landscapes
Corot's work began at a time when formal
ism dominated art. There were no rivers
but torrents, no houses but Greek temples,
no peasants but shepherds and shepherdesSeS.
Corot painted nature as she exists in all her
loneliness, praying always that he might be
as a little child to see her as she is, and that
she might be as a child, open and frank with
him. He was a r~ealist, but to him localities
were real. He saw his landscapes as they
are, not alone as they appear. Going to
Nature with perfect love and trust, she adj
mitted him to her heart of hearts.
The ~stereopticon views were excsllently
chosen to Illustrate scenes around Villpe d.
Array, Corots favorite sketching ground,
views on the Campagna in Rome, where he
made many studies and bits of interest
around Paris. A feature greatly to be COM
mended, was Prof. Smiths method of CIV
ing the motif of a painting, in the shape of
photographs from nature, showing the actual
scene, followed by the result in a reproduc-
ton of the finished composition. By this de-
vice it is possible to obtain a much clearer
insight into methods in landscape painting
than by any other means.
1t was my privilege to hear Professor