Young Women of Sparta (Jeunes filles de Sparte)

Along with 42.196, this painting of a pale, contemplative young woman dressed in garments that conjure past times or distant places exemplifies Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot’s practice as a figure painter. This painting portrays the model Mlle Darmelas wearing the traditional attire of the Italian town of Albano and gazing pensively into space. In the other, a favorite model, Emma Dobigny, reclines in a theatrical “gypsy” costume, while a trio of maidens in the background dance or perhaps engage in a physical contest reflecting the athleticism for which ancient Sparta was renowned. For Corot such costumes were interchangeable referents for imagined worlds, as well as opportunities to explore color, pattern, and texture in delicate touches of paint.