Souvenir of Antibes (Souvenir d'Antibes)

Souvenir of Antibes (Souvenir d'Antibes) is a distinctive print created by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot in 1874. This late work exemplifies the artist's engagement with the relatively new photographic printmaking technique known as cliché-verre. Belonging to the crucial period of French artistic innovation between 1851 to 1875, the piece captures the atmospheric luminosity characteristic of Corot's output, translating his lyrical interpretation of the landscape into a deep, velvety tonality specific to this hybrid medium.

The term "souvenir" suggests a visual memory rather than a literal transcription of the Mediterranean port city of Antibes, located on the French Riviera. Corot often utilized his travels to gather simple motifs, which he then refined, focusing on effects of silhouette and diffused light. Corot was among the earliest and most dedicated masters of cliché-verre, producing dozens of such landscape prints that demonstrate the method's unique ability to merge the spontaneity of drawing with the mechanical reproduction of photography.

Unlike traditional etching or lithography, the cliché-verre process required Corot to draw directly onto a glass plate coated with collodion or opaque paint, scratching away the surface to create transparent lines. The resulting plate was then exposed to light onto sensitized paper, effectively turning the drawn image into a photograph. The resulting finished print, like Souvenir of Antibes, demonstrates Corot's characteristic ability to simplify forms, often depicting figures or structures dwarfed by surrounding vegetation or expansive space.

Corot's adoption of these techniques reflects the rapidly changing artistic environment of the mid-19th century. As an important example of 19th-century French prints, this impression is held in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art (NGA) in Washington, D.C. Due to the age and historical significance of the image, the work is sometimes made available to the public as a high-resolution file, supporting educational use under current public domain standards.