In 1864, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (1796-1875) exhibited at the Salon a landscape reconstructed from studies and sketches made several years previously in the park at Mortefontaine. Underbrush at the edge of the pond, the obvious presence of water and sky, the studied shadows of a cool morning or a misty evening constitute the elements of these landscapes with which Corot, through his sensitivity and skill in spatial composition, constructed his masterpieces. The subject of the painting, that of gathering nature's produce, is a recurrent theme in Corot's work, and, through its very simplicity, enables the painter to concentrate on his pure esthetic and creative quest, to express sensitivity, to draw the viewer into a world of poetry, of nostalgic reverie, in an almost musical realm.

Corot remains - without rival except perhaps for the impressionists - the landscape artist of the 19th century whose work has had the greatest influence throughout the world. Admired in his lifetime by French and British art collectors, who appreciated the poetry and feeling of harmony expressed by his skillfully composed landscapes, he conquered the American and Japanese public at the end of the 19th century. As for the artists of the years 1860 to 1880, they retained his sensitivity and visionary techniques, which would leave an indelible mark on the art of landscape painting.

Studying Souvenir de Mortefontaine (Recollection of Mortefontaine) and exploring the creation of this painting throw light not only on Corot's entire oeuvre, but also, more generally, on the role of the representation of nature in painting in the 19th century and in the innovations of the 20th.