Courtyard of a bakery near Paris (Courtyard of a House near Paris)

Light falls from the upper left, creating a warm, almost golden wash across the entire courtyard scene. The eye enters at the two figures in the foreground center, then moves up the cream-colored building face on the right, and is held by the dark roof mass cutting horizontally across the composition. Three connected structures form a rough U-shape around the dusty courtyard; the leftmost building recedes into shadow while the right building face catches full, warm light. The sky—pale cream and soft blue—provides a gentle, atmospheric backdrop that doesn't compete with the earthy foreground.

The darkest darks are the deep brown roof tiles and interior shadows of doorways and windows; the lightest lights are the cream-colored walls catching direct light, especially on the right building. There's a compressed middle-value range dominated by warm ochres and taupes—most of the visual information lives here. Squint and you'll see three distinct value zones: very dark (roofs and deep shadows), very light (sunlit walls), and a broad warm middle (courtyard ground, shaded walls, figures).

• #d0c097

  Titanium white + yellow ochre + small touch of burnt sienna

  Sunlit wall faces, especially the right building and upper left cottage; the brightest highlights

• #c0a370

  Yellow ochre + burnt sienna + white

  Mid-lit building surfaces and the courtyard ground plane throughout

• #ae8851

  Yellow ochre + burnt sienna + ultramarine blue (neutral brown)

  Shadow sides of buildings and weathered plaster; transition zones between light and shade

• #8a6237

  Burnt sienna + ultramarine blue + raw umber

  Darker roof tiles and wooden architectural details (doors, shutters, window frames)

• #714f2e

  Raw umber + ultramarine blue + burnt sienna

  Deepest interior shadows within doorways and the darkest roof sections

• #49301e

  Raw umber + ultramarine blue + touch of burnt sienna

  The very darkest accents: interior window voids and deep shadow crevices in the roof

Edges are consistently soft and blurred—no hard lines define the buildings. The walls appear weathered and atmospheric; boundaries between sunlit and shadowed surfaces dissolve rather than declare themselves. Brushwork is economical and loose, especially in the sky and distant roof; detail emerges only where it matters (window openings, door frames), while broad flat strokes describe wall planes. The figures are painted with minimal definition, just loose touches of darker pigment against the warm ground.

1. 01

   Establish the sky and distant light

   Begin with a pale, warm wash across the entire upper half—use white, yellow ochre, and a whisper of ultramarine blue. Keep it soft and luminous; this is your light source ceiling. Leave it looser than you think; Corot doesn't overwork the sky here.

2. 02

   Block the three building masses and roof lines

   Using your largest flat brush and a mid-value warm brown (yellow ochre + burnt sienna + white), loosely establish the three connected buildings as simple blocky forms. Don't worry about windows yet—just find the roofline that cuts across the composition and the approximate footprint of each structure. The right building should read as slightly larger and more directly lit than the left.

3. 03

   Lay in the dark roof and shadow masses

   Mix a rich dark brown (raw umber + ultramarine blue) and apply it to the roof tiles. Use loose, horizontal strokes that follow the slope. Let this dark anchor the composition. Paint the deep shadow side of the left building with a slightly cooler, darker version of your mid-tone brown.

4. 04

   Model the sunlit wall planes with warm light

   Using a pale warm cream (white + yellow ochre + small touch of burnt sienna), paint the front face of the right building and the left cottage where direct light hits them. Notice the light doesn't uniformly coat these surfaces—it's warmer where most direct, and transitions gradually into shadow. Let the cream paint sit thick enough to show the brush; don't blend excessively.

5. 05

   Define the courtyard ground and shadow shapes

   The dusty courtyard ground is a warm, neutral tan (yellow ochre + burnt sienna + touch of blue). Block it in simply across the foreground. Add the shadow shapes cast by the buildings—these should be soft-edged and cool-toned (add ultramarine to your tan). Note the figures are standing in or near these shadow areas.

6. 06

   Paint doorways and window voids

   These are your deepest darks—use raw umber + ultramarine blue without white. Paint them as simple dark rectangles; don't render interior detail. There's a doorway on the left cottage, one on the right building, and an open window or door on the far right. These dark accents will anchor the architectural geometry.

7. 07

   Add the figures and foreground life

   With a small round brush and a darkened brown (burnt sienna + ultramarine), suggest the two or three figures in the foreground center as loose vertical marks. Add a few scattered dark touches for the animals (chickens, perhaps a goat) scattered about. These figures are deliberately simple and don't demand precision—they're just reminders of domestic activity.

8. 08

   Refine weathered surfaces and atmospheric transitions

   Return to the building faces with your mid-tone browns and soften transitions between light and shadow—use a damp brush to gently scrub where sunlit cream meets shadow ochre. Add subtle horizontal marks to suggest age and weathering on the plaster. Notice the right building's face has a slight warm-to-cool shift as it turns away from direct light.

9. 09

   Final accents and atmospheric unity

   Step back and check your overall value range. Add any final warm or cool notes where buildings meet sky; soften any edges that feel too crisp. A few darker accents in the foreground scattered wood or shadow will push the figures forward. The whole scene should read as bathed in warm, hazy light—no area should feel isolated or overly detailed.

• Rendering windows and doorways as detailed interior spaces rather than as simple dark voids—they're shadow shapes that create form, not architectural illustrations.
• Overblending the wall surfaces; Corot's walls have visible brushwork and a weathered, slightly rough quality. Stop blending before it feels 'finished.'
• Making the sky too bright or too saturated—it should feel hazy and warm, a supporting player to the earthy buildings below.
• Placing figures too rigidly or rendering them with anatomical precision; they're gestural marks that suggest human presence, not portrait studies.

beginner friendliness

value contrast

palette complexity

compositional simplicity

brushwork visibility