Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot was a leading mid-19th Century French painter who was a particular influence on the Impressionists.

BBC: Lucian Freud donates Corot and Degas works in lieu of tax

He abandoned his citizenship in an emotional, sweeping open letter addressed to French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault that was published in mid-December in the Sunday paper Le Journal du Dimanche.

CNN: French star Depardieu ditches France for Putin's Russia

"'Hold On' is a song of hope for the generation, " said Jean, who shot to worldwide fame in the mid-1990s as part of the superstar hip-hop group Fugees.

CNN: Grieving Haiti victims should 'hold on,' says Wyclef Jean