George Heming Mason, A.R.A.

James Stewart Hodgson (1827-1899);
Agatha, Marchioness of Sligo (1866-1965).

This sketch shows the strong influence that Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot’s landscapes had on the work of Mason and the other Etruscans. Corot had visited Italy as a student of Valenciennes between 1825 and 1828 and adopted the plein air technique of his master. He made subsequent trips in 1834 and 1843 and Corot may have met Giovanni Costa in 1852 when they both stayed at the Pensione Martorelli. They were certainly friends by the 1860s when they were both in Paris. Costa possibly introduced Corot to Mason and certainly Mason and Costa shared an enthusiasm for Corot’s work – also shared by Leighton.