In 1873, following his imprisonment for his political activities during the Paris Commune, Courbet went into exile at La Tour-de-Peilz beside Lac Léman (Lake Geneva). This picture probably belongs to a group of views of Lac Léman painted in 1874. In technique and composition it recalls Courbet's earlier views of the Channel coast, which were influenced by Eugène Boudin and James Abbott McNeill Whistler.
On loan to the exhibition 'Courbet and the Modern Landscape' at the J Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles from February to May 2006; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston from June to September 2006; and the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore from October 2006 to July 2007.
