This painting is closely related to "Bacchante by the Sea," also in the Museum's collection, (on view here) which is dated 1865. However, the anatomy of the figure is not resolved and the sketchiness suggests that it is not a finished work, despite the signature.

Inscription: Signed (lower left): COROT

Jaquette; [Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, until 1900; sold on January 20, 1900 to Durand-Ruel, for Fr 12,000]; [Durand-Ruel, Paris, 1900–1901; stock no. 5618, as "Femme nue couchée"; sold on February 20, 1901 to Durand-Ruel, New York]; [Durand-Ruel, New York, 1901; stock no. 2493; sold on May 24, 1901 to Havemeyer for $6,000]; Mr. and Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, New York (1901–his d. 1907); Mrs. H. O. (Louisine W.) Havemeyer, New York (1907–d. 1929; cat., 1931, p. 69; 2nd ed., 1958, p. 14, no. 68)

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The H. O. Havemeyer Collection," March 10–November 2, 1930, no. 17 [2nd ed., 1958, no. 68].

New York. Shepherd Gallery. "Ingres & Delacroix through Degas & Puvis de Chavannes: The Figure in French Art, 1800–1870," May–June 1975, no. 31.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Splendid Legacy: The Havemeyer Collection," March 27–June 20, 1993, no. A107.

L[éon]. Roger-Milès. Album classique des chefs-d'œuvre de Corot. Paris, 1895, p. 58, ill., erroneously calls it "Nymphe couchée au bord de la mer," from the H. Vever Collection, confusing it with "Bacchante by the Sea" (MMA 29.100.19).

Julius Meier-Graefe. Corot und Courbet: Ein Beitrag zur Entwicklungsgeschichte der Modernen Malerei. Leipzig, 1905, p. 41 [English translation published in Ref. Meier-Graefe 1908; reprinted in Ref. Meier-Graefe 1913], calls it "Nymphe auf dem Tigerfell" and states erroneousely that it was exhibited in 1865.

[Adolphe-]Étienne Moreau-Nélaton in Alfred Robaut. L'Œuvre de Corot: Catalogue raisonné et illustré. [reprint 1965]. Paris, 1905, vol. 1, p. 244 n. 3 [reprinted in Ref. Moreau-Nélaton 1924].

Alfred Robaut. L'Œuvre de Corot: Catalogue raisonné et illustré. [reprint 1965]. Paris, 1905, vol. 3, pp. 48–49, no. 1377, ill., calls it "Bacchante couchée dans la campagne" and dates it 1865–70.

Julius Meier-Graefe. Modern Art, Being a Contribution to a New System of Aesthetics. London, 1908, vol. 1, p. 171.

August F. Jaccaci. "Figure Pieces of Corot in America: II." Art in America 2 (December 1913), p. 2, as "Bacchante couchée dans la campagne"; notes that it dates from the same period as "The Muse: History" (R1388, MMA 29.100.193) and calls it a variation on a favorite subject; considers it to be a study, with only the figure completed.

Julius Meier-Graefe. Camille Corot. 3rd ed. Munich, 1913, p. 46.

Étienne Moreau-Nélaton. Corot raconté par lui-même. 2nd rev. ed. (1st ed., 1905). Paris, 1924, vol. 2, p. 35, fig. 198, as "Bacchante".

Arsène Alexandre. "La Collection Havemeyer: Courbet et Corot." La Renaissance 12 (June 1929), ill. p. 276, calls it "Femme couchée".

C. Bernheim de Villers. Corot: Peintre de figures. Paris, 1930, p. 59, no. 209, ill., discusses it with "Bacchante by the Sea" (R1376, MMA 29.100.19).

Julius Meier-Graefe. Corot. Berlin, 1930, p. 82, pl. 100, as "Bacchante"; dates it about 1865.

H. O. Havemeyer Collection: Catalogue of Paintings, Prints, Sculpture and Objects of Art. n.p., 1931, p. 69, ill., calls it "Nude in a Landscape".

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The H. O. Havemeyer Collection. 2nd ed. New York, 1958, p. 14, no. 68.

Charles Sterling, and Margaretta M. Salinger. "XIX Century." French Paintings: A Catalogue of the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2, New York, 1966, pp. 59–60, ill.

Martin L.H. Reymert et al. in Ingres & Delacroix through Degas & Puvis de Chavannes: The Figure in French Art, 1800–1870. Exh. cat., Shepherd Gallery. New York, 1975, pp. 73–74, ill., remarks that this painting is one of a group of reclining female figures that derive from Corot's "The Nymph of the Seine" (1837; R379, private collection, Paris); notes the influence of Courbet and Puvis de Chavannes.

Frances Weitzenhoffer. The Havemeyers: Impressionism Comes to America. New York, 1986, p. 176, pl. 134, dates it about 1865.

Jean Leymarie. Corot. 3rd ed. (1st ed., 1966). [Geneva], 1992, p. 196, ill. p. 146 [English ed., 1979].

Susan Alyson Stein in Splendid Legacy: The Havemeyer Collection. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1993, pp. 231, 286.

Gary Tinterow in Splendid Legacy: The Havemeyer Collection. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1993, p. 21, pl. 17, dates it about 1865.

Gretchen Wold in Splendid Legacy: The Havemeyer Collection. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1993, p. 309, no. A107, ill. p. 308.

Gary Tinterow in La collection Havemeyer: Quand l'Amérique découvrait l'impressionnisme. Exh. cat., Musée d'Orsay. Paris, 1997, pp. 42–43, 107, fig. 18, dates it about 1865.

Petra ten-Doesschate Chu in Courbet: artiste et promoteur de son oeuvre. Exh. cat., Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts de Lausanne. Paris, 1998, p. 144, as "Bacchante couchée au fond de la mer"; compares it to Courbet's "Femme nue couchée" (1868; Philadelphia Museum of Art).

Corot painted several nudes in landscapes. Both this painting (R1377) and "Bacchante by the Sea" (R1376, MMA 29.100.19) are based on an earlier study dated 1837, "The Nymph of the Seine" (R379, private collection). Two related works are R540 (1840–45, location unknown), which shows a model in almost the same pose, and R1046 (about 1855–58; Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Geneva) with a different pose. Another early recumbent nude, seen from the back in an interior setting, is "Marietta" (R458; Petit Palais, Paris) of 1843.