Woman Meditatingafter 1868 · Study 1949.189

Context from the museum

This painting, acquired by the Cleveland Museum of Art in 1949, as a work by Corot, proved to be a copy when the signed original reappeared at a public auction in New York in 1981. Although the original, Jeune Femme Pensive or La Méditation , is not in the Corot catalogue raisonné compiled by his friend Alfred Robaut, that painting does have an unquestionable origin. According to one source, Corot painted the original version in Paris in 1866–68 and allowed his pupil, Eugène Lavieille, to make a copy with permission.

Museum description reproduced from its CC0 open-access record. Read the original catalog entry.

A detail to notice

Scholars speculate that Camille Corot's model for this painting was Emma Dobigny, the frail young girl who posed for the two versions of Pierre Puvis de Chavannes's painting Hope of 1872 (Musée du Louvre, Paris; Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore). This painting, acquired by the Cleveland Museum of Art in 1949, as a work by Corot, proved to be a copy when the signed original reappeared at a public auction in New York in 1981.

Observation supplied by the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected unframed measurement for Woman Meditating is 42.9 cm wide and 59.4 cm high, equivalent to approximately 16.9 × 23.4 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 0.72:1. The rectangular bounding area is 0.25 square meters; it describes the measured footprint, not the amount of paint or the monetary value.

On an illustrative 300 cm wall, the recorded width occupies 14.3% of the span before adding a frame. A centered placement leaves approximately 128.6 cm on each side before adding a frame. These are calculations by Physical Art For Crypto using museum measurements. They are not the museum’s display recommendations.

Questions to bring to your own collection

With Woman Meditating in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, oil on fabric, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this vertical composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 42.9 cm width still suit the space after allowing for furniture and a frame?
• What surface detail would you need to see in person or in a close photograph?