Saint Sebastian Succored by the Holy Women

1874

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot

Associated Names
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot

Artist, French, 1796 - 1875

The painting shows a scene from a slightly elevated angle. At the bottom are three people; two women are tending to a man who appears to have long spears or arrows in him. The three people have yellow-toned skin, and the man is mostly nude except for a red cloth draped around his waist. The women wear blue and white cloths draped around their heads and shoulders over dark dresses. One of them holds a silver bowl, and the other pulls an arrow out of the man, who sits on a white cloth. They are at the edge of a dense forest. Trees tower above them on both sides. Beyond the trees is a distant hill, and distant people on horseback are walking along the ridge, facing away from us. The sky above is pale blue. At the top of the painting, surrounded by green leaves, are two flying cherubs gilded with yellow light. They point down to the three figures below. The brushwork in the painting is loose and expressive.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Timken Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 130.1 x 86 cm (51 1/4 x 33 7/8 in.)
    framed: 160 x 116.2 x 9.8 cm (63 x 45 3/4 x 3 7/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1960.6.4


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Gellinard, by 1878;[1] (his sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 19 March 1888, no. 42, 15,000 francs); purchased by Victor Desfosses; (his estate sale, Paris, 26 April 1899, no. 17, 48,000 francs); (Arnold & Tripp, Paris).[2] Edward Fullerton Milliken [d. 1906], New York; (his sale, American Art Association, New York, 14 February 1902, no. 24); purchased by (Cottier and Co., New York).[3] (Arthur Tooth and Sons, London); (their sale, American Art Galleries, New York, 19 February 1925, no. 68); purchased by Thomas Williams.[4] William R. Timken [1866-1949], New York; by inheritance to his widow, Lillian Guyer Timken [1881-1959], New York; bequest 1960 to NGA.
[1] The picture was lent by Gellinard to the Universal Exposition of 1878.
[2] Annotated copy of the Desfossés catalogue in the M. Knoedler library.
[3] Annotated copy of the Milliken sale catalogue in the M. Knoedler library; sale also widely reported in the press.
[4] Annotated copy of sale catalogue in Knoedler library fiche no. 803, and press clippings, copies in NGA curatorial files.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1878

  • Exposition universelle, Paris, 1878, no. 202.

1895

  • Exposition de centenaire de Corot, Palais Galliéra, Paris, 1895, no. 62.

1967

  • Loan for display with permanent collection, Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia, Athens, 1967-1971.

1974

  • Loan for display with permanent collection, Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christie, 1974-1980.

1983

  • French Salon Paintings from Southern Collections, The High Museum of Art, Atlanta; Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences; North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh; John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, 1983, no. 20, repro.

1987

  • Loan for display with permanent collection (in conjunction with the exhibition From Arcadia to Barbizon: A Journey in French Landscape), Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis, 1987-1988.

1994

  • Paris in 1874: The Year of Impressionism, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 1994, no. 58, repro.

1996

  • Corot, Courbet und die Maler von Barbizon: Les amis de la nature, Haus der Kunst, Munich, 1996, no. B25, repro.

1999

  • Theo Van Gogh (1857 - 1891): Art dealer, collector and brother of Vincent, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam; Musée d'Orsay, Paris, 1999-2000, no. 84, repro., as St. Sebastian (shown only in Amsterdam).

Bibliography

1878

  • Mantz, Paul. L'art moderne à l'Exposition Universelle de 1878. Paris, 1878: 24.

1892

  • Thomson, David Croal. Corot. London, 1892: 40.

1905

  • Robaut, Alfred, and Etienne Moreau-Nélaton. L'Oeuvre de Corot. Catalogue raisonné et illustré. 5 vols. Paris, 1905: 1:311; 2:330 under no. 1063; 3:360, no. 2316, repro.; 4:347, 278, 291.

1924

  • Moreau-Nélaton, Etienne. Corot raconté par lui-même. 2 vols. Paris, 1924: II:89, repro.

1951

  • Bazin, Germain. Corot. Paris, 1951: 25-26, 75.

1965

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 30.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 23, repro.

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 76, repro.

1984

  • Norton, Thomas E. 100 Years of Collecting in America. New York, 1984: 100, repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 96, repro.

2000

  • Eitner, Lorenz. French Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part I: Before Impressionism. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 2000: 98-101, color repro.

Inscriptions

lower right: COROT

Wikidata ID

Q20188782

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