Bronze Age Gold from Wales

This elegiac composition of around 1865-70 is one of numerous scenes of fishermen in boats, frequently moored near a willow tree. The tiny intense red spot of the man's cap emphasises the sublety of Corot's tones. He described the gentle melancholy of such works: 'Let us sit down by this pond still as a looking-glass. Nature has a weary look. Poor flowers! They know that the sylphs of evening are going to refresh them with dew'. Margaret Davies purchased this painting in 1908.