Framed The Bridge at Narni by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot

The Bridge at Narni by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot is an early landscape painting created during his first trip to Italy. Corot depicts the medieval Ponte d’Augusto (often called the Bridge of Narni) in Umbria, a Roman structure spanning the Nera River. In the painting, the bridge—already partly ruined by Corot’s time—arches gracefully across a serene valley, framed by softly rolling hills and bathed in the clear Italian light that so deeply influenced the artist. Though still rooted in classical landscape tradition, The Bridge at Narni captures the living essence of place rather than a staged historical scene, marking Corot’s unique contribution to 19th-century landscape art.