Corot was one of the most successful French landscape painters of the first half of the 19th century. Most of his life was spent working in three places – Barbizon, Paris and at the family property at Ville-d'Avray. He generally made sketches out of doors at Barbizon over the summer, and worked on his Salon paintings in Paris during the winter. Calm, serene and cheery by nature, he was fond of advising his pupils, 'If before nature God does not speak to you, it means that your hour has not yet come or that you have mistaken your way. Go and search elsewhere'. Monet and Renoir both admired Corot. While Monet appreciated his ability to give a painting atmospheric unity, Renoir admired his ability to combine his knowledge of the classical tradition and traditional methods of studio composition with what he saw.