Detail of Young Women of Sparta by Corot in the Brooklyn Museum, March 2010

Young Women of Sparta (Jeunes filles de Sparte)

Corot devoted a number of works to Emma Dobigny, his favorite model, often dressing the young Frenchwoman in garb that evoked the East—here showing her in the costume of ancient Sparta. Corot’s allusion to a historical past and his inclusion of dancing girls in the background—perhaps a reference to the vigorous physical exercises of the Spartans—provide a veneer of narrative for a work that for the most part exploits Western notions of the East’s seductive allure. Corot poses Dobigny in an iconic posture of eroticized passivity—lying on a leopard pelt with her gaze demurely averted and with her voluptuous curves, bare legs, and open neckline displayed for the viewer.

Artist: Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, French, 1796-1875

Medium: Oil on canvas

Place Made: Europe

Dates: 1868-1870

Dimensions: 16 3/4 x 29 7/16 in. (42.5 x 74.8 cm)
Frame: 26 x 38 in. (66 x 96.5 cm)

Signature: Signed lower left: "COROT"

Collections: European Art

Museum Location: This item is on view in Beaux-Arts Court, North, 3rd Floor

Accession Number: 42.195

Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Horace O. Havemeyer

Text from: www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/4738/Young_...