Landscape (The Large Tree)

Landscape (The Large Tree) — Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. c. 1865–70.

Medium: charcoal with stumping, erasing, and wet brushwork on light brown wove paper. Dimensions: Sheet: 24.2 x 41.8 cm (9 1/2 x 16 7/16 in.).

Collection record: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. Museum connection according to this source; current display unverified.

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot used sticks of charcoal, a powdery black medium, to dramatic effect in this late-career landscape, layering them and turning them on their side to form tonal areas and fine lines. Describing the period when the drawing was made, a colleague wrote that “one never saw [Corot] without . . . charcoal in his hand.” Such artworks conveyed the poetry the artist saw in nature and advanced his lifelong ambition of elevating landscape from the lowly status it held at the conservative French Academy. Here, he aimed to capture an evocative mood rather than a specific place, describing such works as “souvenirs,” or remembrances.

Source: official collection record. Metadata selected and normalized by Artline from the source export, accessed 10 September 2026; no museum endorsement. Reproduction rights are separate.