The Belfry of Douai 1871

Camille Corot painted this oil on canvas, The Belfry of Douai, sometime in the mid-19th century. Corot belonged to the Barbizon School of painters in France, who advocated painting directly from nature. Here we see the belfry, or bell tower, that would have been an important civic structure. Before modern technology, the ringing of the bell would have signaled important news. Corot’s decision to paint this is telling. The architecture is rendered with an incredible level of detail, but the people in the square are just vague outlines. Is he interested in the rise of the city and the decline of the individual? Corot was working during a time of incredible social change in France. By looking at census records, newspapers, and other primary source documents, we can better understand the context in which Corot made this painting. By doing so, we can better see how the image reflects the social structures of its own time.