Cover and Text for Album Douze Croquis et Dessins Originaux

The Cover and Text for Album Douze Croquis et Dessins Originaux was executed by the celebrated French landscape painter Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot in 1871. Produced near the end of the artist’s prolific career, this piece serves as the introductory material for an album intended to showcase Corot's sketches and original drawings. This introductory print reflects the high quality of contemporary French publishing, having been produced by the renowned Parisian firm, Lemercier et Companie. The work documents the organization and commercial presentation of fine art prints during the mid-to-late 19th century.

Classified specifically as a print, the work details the careful layering required for high-quality reproductions in this era. It is structurally complex, consisting of two primary components: an outer cover featuring the main title, printed on gray wove paper, and an inner liner of white wove paper containing supplementary text, notes, and the artist’s signature. This careful distinction in medium underscores the importance of the album's contents.

Corot utilized this introductory sheet to present his personal selection of preliminary works, offering collectors valuable insight into his creative process beyond his more famous finished canvases. While known primarily for his pioneering oil paintings and contributions to the Barbizon School, Corot also actively engaged in the graphic arts to ensure wider dissemination of his oeuvre. This important historical object, documenting the commercialization of art in 19th-century France, is currently held in the esteemed collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.