“Stop and observe how this etching, a "Remembrance of Italy," conjures a serene, almost dreamlike landscape. Notice the soft, hazy quality that makes the scene feel like a cherished memory.”
This etching invites us into a serene Italian landscape, rendered with a delicate touch that captures the soft light and atmospheric depth Corot often sought. We see a cluster of trees, their foliage a hazy mass, framing a distant view of what appears to be a town or village nestled on a hillside. The foreground features a calm body of water reflecting the sky, with a few small figures dotting the scene, perhaps fishing or simply enjoying the tranquil setting. This print, made around 1866, revisits the artist's formative travels to Italy decades earlier, suggesting a memory rather than a direct observation, a dreamlike evocation of the Italian countryside. The choice of etching allows for a nuanced interplay of light and shadow, creating a sense of timelessness and quiet contemplation.
- Artist
- Jean Baptiste Camille Corot
- Date
- 1866
- Medium
- Etching on tan laid paper
- Location
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Dimensions
- Image: 29.3 × 22 cm (11 9/16 × 8 11/16 in.); Plate: 32 × 24.3 cm (12 5/8 × 9 5/8 in.); Sheet: 42 × 29 cm (16 9/16 × 11 7/16 in.)
- Collection
- Prints and Drawings
- Culture
- France
- Credit line
- Elizabeth Hammond Stickney Collection
What to Notice
Four details hide in plain sight. Here’s where to look.

The feathery, almost blurred quality of the tree foliage.
Tiny figures near the water's edge, adding scale to the scene.
The distant town subtly emerging from the misty hills.
The soft reflections on the water, mirroring the sky above.
Stand in front of it and listen
The full narration walks you through Remembrance of Italy — the story behind it, the details most visitors miss, and why it matters. Free in the Art Whisper app.
Jean Baptiste Camille Corot
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, a pivotal French landscape painter, masterfully bridged Neo-Classicism with the emerging plein-air innovations of Impressionism.
Further Works by Corot
More from Naturalism
More works to explore
Beyond Corot and Naturalism: works from the same years, and from the other movements Remembrance of Italy belongs to.
Same movement · Barbizon school
The Estuary Farm
Léon-Victor Dupré · 1831 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1850s–1880s
Two Boats in a Storm
Léon-Victor Dupré · 1870 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same movement · Barbizon school
Woman Feeding Chickens
Jean-François Millet · 1850 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1850s–1880s
The Backgammon Players
Philip Webb · 1861 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Same era · 1850s–1880s
Paris Street; Rainy Day
Kawabata Gyokushō · 1877 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1850s–1880s
In the Auvergne
Jean-François Millet · 1866 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1850s–1880s
Seashore, Morning
William Hart · 1866 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Same era · 1850s–1880s
The Banks of the Marne in Winter
Camille Pissarro · 1866 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1850s–1880s
The Races at Longchamp
Édouard Manet · 1866 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1850s–1880s
A Woman Seated beside a Vase of Flowers (Madame Paul Valpinçon?)
Edgar Degas · 1865 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Same era · 1850s–1880s
Cliffs on the Sea Coast: Small Beach, Sunrise (Falaise au bord de la mer, vu Petite Plage, soleil levant)
Gustave Courbet · 1865 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1850s–1880s
Mirope Savati Gaye
Mariano Fortuny Marsal · 1865 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Same era · 1850s–1880s
The Beach at Sainte-Adresse
Claude Monet · 1867 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1850s–1880s
Alfred Sisley
Pierre-Auguste Renoir · 1864 · Foundation E.G. Bührle Collection




