The Church in Marissel

In the spring of 1866 Corot was staying near Beauvais, north of Paris, and walked out to the village of Marissel on the edge of the town. Accounts of the picture say he painted it on the spot over nine mornings. The following year he sent it to the Paris Salon, a view made in front of the motif and shown as a finished picture. The path runs straight toward the church, whose tower and spire stand pale at the far end. Tall thin trees, only just coming into leaf, line both sides. Two women walk away up the path, and at the right a third figure bends over the edge of the pond. The still water in front holds the sky and the dark trunks. It is signed at the lower left.