Portrait of M-me Mariette Gambay (‘La Songerie de Mariette’) can be classified as one of the unique ‘mood portraits.’ Corot created an entire gallery of female figures, each of which conveys a specific mood of the model. Mariette is painted with a tilted head, and her sweet face expresses a pensive calm. The artist placed a book in the model’s hands. He specifically selected items such as these for his paintings from secondhand book sellers situated along the banks of the Seine. Mariette is absorbed in her own thoughts and daydreams. The painting is distinctive in its unusual delicacy, in the light silver hue, and in the prevalence of values, which Corot used to convey mood in his paintings.