
Camille Jacob Pissarro Painting Reproductions Gallery 5 of 21
1830-1903French Impressionist Painter
Camille Pissarro (July 10, 1830 - November 13, 1903) was a French Impressionist painter. His importance resides not only in his visual contributions to Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, but also in his patriarchal standing among his colleagues, particularly Paul Cezanne.
Early life and work
Camille Jacob Pissarro was born in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas to Abraham Gabriel Pissarro, a Portuguese Sephardic Jew, and Rachel Manzano-Pomie, from the Dominican Republic. Pissarro lived in St. Thomas until age 12, when he went to a boarding school in Paris. He returned to St. Thomas where he drew in his free time. Pissarro was attracted to political Anarchy, an attraction that may have originated during his years in St. Thomas. In 1852, he travelled to Venezuela with the Danish artist Fritz Melbye. In 1855, he moved to Paris, where he studied informally with the French landscape artist Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot.
His finest early works (See Jalais Hill, Pontoise, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) are characterized by a broadly painted (sometimes with palette knife) naturalism derived from Courbet, but with an incipient Impressionist palette.
Camille Pissarro married Julie Vellay, a maid in his mother's household. Of their eight children together, one died at birth and a daughter died when nine. The surviving children all painted, and Lucien, the oldest son, became a follower of William Morris.
Artist and mentor
Known as the Father of Impressionism, Pissarro painted rural and urban French life, particularly landscapes in and around Pontoise, as well as scenes from Montmartre. His mature work displays an empathy for peasants and laborers, and sometimes evidences his radical political leanings. He was a mentor to Paul Cezanne and Paul Gauguin and his example inspired many younger artists, including Californian Impressionist Lucy Bacon.
Pissarro's influence on his fellow Impressionists is probably still underrated; not only did he offer substantial contributions to Impressionist theory, but he also managed to remain on friendly, mutually respectful terms with such difficult personalities as Edgar Degas, Cezanne and Gauguin. Pissarro exhibited at all eight of the Impressionist exhibitions. Moreover, whereas Monet was the most prolific and emblematic practitioner of the Impressionist style, Pissarro was nonetheless a primary developer of Impressionist technique.
Pissarro experimented with Neo-Impressionist ideas between 1885 and 1890. Discontented with what he referred to as "romantic Impressionism", he investigated Pointillism which he called "scientific Impressionism" before returning to a purer Impressionism in the last decade of his life.
In March 1893, Paris Gallery Durand-Ruel organized a major exhibition of 46 of Pissarro's works along with 55 others by Antonio de La Gandara. But while the critics acclaimed Gandara, their appraisal of Pissarro's art was less enthusiastic.
Pissarro died in Eragny-sur-Epte on either November 12 or November 13, 1903 and was buried in Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.
During his lifetime, Camille Pissarro sold few of his paintings. By 2005, however, some of his works were selling for over U.S. $4 million.
489 Paintings of Pissarro
National Gallery of Art Washington USA
Boulevard des Italiens - Morning, Sunlight
$592
$49.45
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum Madrid Spain
Rue Saint-Honore - Afternoon, Rain Effect
$540
$71.74
Private Collection
Children in a Garden at Eragny
$510
$59.8
Private Collection
Two Women in a Meadow: Sunset at Eragny
$370
Private Collection
The Young Maid
$349
Private Collection
Enslosed Field at Eragny
$439
Private Collection
Apple Trees, Sunset, Eragny
$439
Art Gallery of Ontario Toronto Canada
The Boieldiu Bridge, Rouen - Damp Weather
$644
Museum and Art Gallery Birmingham United Kingdom
The Boieldieu Bridge, Rouen - Sunset
$488
Metropolitan Museum of Art New York USA
Morning, An Overcast Day, Rouen
$405
$60.72
Carnegie Museum of Art Pittsburgh USA
The Great Bridge, Rouen
$651
Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe Germany
The Boieldieu Bridge, Rouen - Rain Effect
$496
National Gallery of Art Ottawa Canada
The Corneille Bridge, Rouen - Grey Weather
$504
Private Collection
Le Pont Corneille a Rouen, Effet du Matin
$405
Private Collection
The Corneille Bridge, Rouen, Morning Mist
$370
Private Collection
The Saint-Sever Quay, Rouen
$496
$71.44
Toledo Museum of Art Ohio USA
The Roofs of Old Rouen - Grey Weather, Cathedral
$379
Metropolitan Museum of Art New York USA
Bather in the Woods
$464
$59.27
Boston Museum of Fine Arts Massachusetts USA
Morning Sunlight on the Snow, Eragny-sur-Epte
$507
$47.9
Sara Lee Corporation Chicago USA
Young Woman Bathing Her Feet
$488
Art Institute of Chicago Illinois USA
Young Girl Mending Her Stockings
$400
Private Collection
Mother Lucien's Yard, Eragny
$360
Private Collection
Flowering Apple Trees, Eragny
$384