Brief Biography-Jean Baptiste Camille Corot of Paris was the son of a successful milliner. When he was twenty-two, he painted under Achille-Etna Michallon and Jean-Victor Bertin. Jean decided his father’s profession did not suit him, which his family had entered him into after schooling. So, he went to Italy for two years, where he studied mainly in the vicinity of Rome, later travelling around France extensively and returning to Italy on two occasions.
His family supported him with an annual allowance, allowing him to work at will. He liked to paint in the countryside in the mornings and evenings to capture the light properties. He became a very successful artist, primarily due to his landscapes; however, he was also a painter of portraits and indulged in printmaking. His influences were a mixture of the southern neoclassical landscape and the realistic northern style, leaning towards en plein air. In 1846, he received the Légion d’Honneur, and in 1867, he became an officer of the Salon.
He was very charitable and later supported the younger artists of the not-so-academic style. He was held in high esteem for his generosity during the siege of Paris in 1870 and was known affectionately as Le Pere Corot, Father Corot. One of his many notable students was Camille Pissarro.