Camille CorotFrench, 1796–1875The Bridge at Narni
Le pont de Narni.
May one see it?
Yes, receiving visitors
Musée du Louvre
Room949, Aile Sully, Niveau 2Paris, France
On public display.
- Checked
- 7 days ago
- In this state since
- Sep 26, 2026
- Source
- The museum's own collection data
About the painting
The Bridge at Narni (French: Le pont de Narni) is an 1826 painting of the Ponte d'Augusto at Narni by French artist Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. The painting is on display at the Musée du Louvre in Paris.
It was painted in September 1826 and was the basis for the larger and more finished View at Narni, which was exhibited at the Salon of 1827 and is in the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa.
The view was not a novel one: in 1821 Corot's teacher, Achille-Etna Michallon had drawn the same scene, as had Corot's friend Ernst Fries in 1826. Art historian Peter Galassi describes Corot's study as a reconciliation of traditional and plein air painting objectives:
Read on
So deeply did Corot admire Claude and Poussin, so fully did he understand their work, that from the outset he viewed nature in their terms....In less than a year (since his arrival in Rome) he had realized his goal of closing the gap between the empirical freshness of outdoor painting and the organizing principles of classical landscape composition.
Particulars
- Accession number
- RF 1613
Sources
- Musée du Louvre: the museum's own open data · fetched 7 days ago
- Image: Musée du Louvre — © 2015 GrandPalaisRmn (musée du Louvre) / Mathieu Rabeau
Meanwhile, in the life of Camille Corot
The whole life1825–1828
First trip to Italy
With his parents' support Corot went to Italy to study the Renaissance masters and draw the crumbling monuments of antiquity; his parents' condition was that he paint a self-portrait for them, his first. In three years he completed over 200 drawings and 150 paintings, worked and travelled with several young French painters, and spent most of his time around Rome and in the Italian countryside.
1825–1828
A vow to landscape: no marriage for the sake of painting
Although strongly attracted to Italian women, Corot wrote that he had only one goal in life, to make landscapes, and that this firm resolution kept him from a serious attachment, that is, from marriage. He did in fact forsake any long-term relationships with women and remained very close to his parents even in his fifties.
1827
Salon debut: “View at Narni”
In 1827 Corot sent his first painting to the Salon, “View at Narni”. He transformed a quick study of a ruined Roman aqueduct in bright sun into an idyllic pastoral setting with giant shade trees and green lawns, a conversion meant to appeal to the Neoclassical jurors.
1828–1834
Chasing the Salon: Normandy, portraits and first commissions
Between his first and second Italian trips Corot concentrated on preparing large landscapes for the Salon, often adapting his Italian oil sketches, reworked in the studio, according to Neoclassical principles. Away from the studio he travelled throughout France, returned to the Normandy coast and to Rouen, painted portraits of friends and relatives and received his first commissions; one of the most successful, a portrait of his niece Laure Sennegon in powder blue, was later donated to the Louvre.
