This work was once thought to be a portrait of the painter Rosa Bonheur (1822–1899) as a child, but it seems to represent a boy. Corot's portraits were limited to friends and members of his family, but thus far the figure remains unidentified.
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Title:Portrait of a Child
Artist:Camille Corot (French, Paris 1796–1875 Paris)
Date:ca. 1835
Medium:Oil on wood
Dimensions:12 5/8 x 9 1/4 in. (32.1 x 23.5 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
Object Number:29.100.564
Inscription: Signed (lower left): COROT; inscribed (lower left): Corot
Mr. and Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, New York (by 1891–his d. 1907); Mrs. H. O. (Louisine W.) Havemeyer, New York (1907–d. 1929; cat., 1931, p. 68, as "Portrait of Rosa Bonheur"; 2nd ed., 1958, p. 15, no. 75)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The H. O. Havemeyer Collection," March 10–November 2, 1930, no. 11 (as "Rosa Bonheur") [2nd ed., 1958, no. 75].
Newark Museum. "19th-Century French and American Paintings from the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 9–May 15, 1946, no. 3 (as "Portrait of Rosa Bonheur").
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Barbizon: French Landscapes of the Nineteenth Century," February 4–May 10, 1992, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Splendid Legacy: The Havemeyer Collection," March 27–June 20, 1993, no. A98 (as "Portrait of a Child").
Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe. "Camille Corot: Natur und Traum," September 29, 2012–January 20, 2013, no. 70.
"Corot as Figure Painter." The Collector 2 (February 1, 1891), p. 77, states that this picture is "a portrait of Rosa Bonheur, dressed as and looking very much like a boy".
Kunst und Künstler 28 (1930), ill. p. 387, identifies the sitter as Rosa Bonheur.
Karl Scheffler. Illustrierte Monatsschrift für Bildende Kunst 28 (1930), ill. p. 387, as "Jugenbildnis Rosa Bonheur".
Frank Jewett Mather Jr. "The Havemeyer Pictures." The Arts 16 (March 1930), p. 471, calls it "Rosa Bonheur in a Boy's Costume" and dates it about 1832.
H. O. Havemeyer Collection: Catalogue of Paintings, Prints, Sculpture and Objects of Art. n.p., 1931, p. 68, calls it "Portrait of Rosa Bonheur".
Josephine L. Allen and Elizabeth E. Gardner. A Concise Catalogue of the European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1954, p. 20.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The H. O. Havemeyer Collection. 2nd ed. New York, 1958, p. 15, no. 75.
Charles Sterling and Margaretta M. Salinger. French Paintings: A Catalogue of the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 2, XIX Century. New York, 1966, pp. 47–48, ill., call it "Portrait of a Child" and date it about 1835; note that the model wears the clothing of a young boy.
Alfred Werner. "The Versatile Genius of Corot." American Artist 39 (June 1975), ill. p. 45.
Dore Ashton and Denise Browne Hare. Rosa Bonheur: A Life and a Legend. New York, 1981, p. 12, ill., call it "Portrait of Rosa Bonheur as a Child," noting that Corot was a "much admired friend" of the Bonheur family.
Frances Weitzenhoffer. "The Creation of the Havemeyer Collection, 1875–1900." PhD diss., City University of New York, 1982, p. 143 n. 19, notes that it was formerly considered to be a likeness of Rosa Bonheur and that the Havemeyers acquired it from an unknown source.
Peter Galassi. Letter to Charles S. Moffett. January 26, 1982, does not see "any reason to question the authenticity of the picture".
Susan Alyson Stein inSplendid Legacy: The Havemeyer Collection. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1993, p. 286.
Gary Tinterow inSplendid Legacy: The Havemeyer Collection. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1993, p. 21, colorpl. 15.
Gretchen Wold inSplendid Legacy: The Havemeyer Collection. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1993, p. 306, no. A98, ill. p. 307.
Katharine Baetjer. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born Before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. New York, 1995, p. 405, ill.
Dorit Schäfer inCamille Corot: Natur und Traum. Exh. cat., Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe. Heidelberg, 2012, pp. 132, 466, no. 70, ill. p. 141 (color).
Sébastien Allard. Corot: Le peintre et ses modèles / The Painter and His Models. Exh. cat., Musée Marmottan Monet. Paris, 2018, fig. 6 (color).
Catherine Hewitt. Art is a Tyrant: The Unconventional Life of Rosa Bonheur. London, 2020, p. 74, ill.
Below the signature and partially concealed by it is an earlier one in black that is more like Corot's usual signature.
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