Camille Pissarro 18301903 Impressionism

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Camille Pissarro1830-1903Impressionism
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Childhood

• Born on the island of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
  to a merchant. Grew up speaking Spanish, French
  and English.
• Learned drawing at boarding school in Paris in
  his teens and began to draw constantly.
• Returned to the islands for some years, but
  decided that Paris was the best place to pursue
  his art.
• Settled in Paris at the age of 25 and studied
  with a variety of painting experts.

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Cote des Jalais 1867

• In his early works, he followed the dictates of
  Corot--dull colors, landscapes, realistic scenes.
• Pissarro was a member of the Salon, the highest
  honor for French artists at the time. The Salon
  preferred traditional idealized art. The Salon
  held an important art show every year that every
  artists wanted to be in. Pissarro regularly
  submitted works to the Salon.

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St. Stephens, London 1870

• In 1870, Pissarro moved to London for a few
  years. While there, he collaborated with several
  English artists and eventually developed a new,
  unique style called Impressionism.
• Impressionism was an attempt by the artist to
  paint the light. The effect of the light becomes
  more important than the subject matter itself.
  Impressionism uses visible brush strokes ,
  ordinary subject matter, and often led to an
  artist painting the same scene multiple times,
  trying to see the varying effect of light on the
  subject matter.

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Spring and Summer 1872

• On the left is a spring scene. Notice how
  Pissarro has started to use lighter and brighter
  colors. Also notice that the emphasis is on
  capturing the feel of the light, rather than the
  workers.
• On the right is the summer scene. Does it feel
  like summer? Do you get the sense of heat?
  Notice how hes pretty much abandoned outlining.
  His goal was to try to paint how the light
  creates color.

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Salon de RefusJs The Road to Vinciennes 1874

• The new style that Pissarro helped to create did
  not please the Salon. The Salon ridiculed the
  new style and refused to put any works of the new
  style in the annual art review.
• In reaction, a group of artists, including
  Pissarro, created their own review and called it
  the Salon des RefusJs, and displayed works
  that were refused by the Salon.
• The Salon called the group Impressionists as a
  way to make fun of them as if their work were
  merely an impression of the scenes they painted.
• What do you think? Do you think Impressionism is
  real art even though objects arent painted
  exactly as they are seen? Why do you think the
  French Salon objected to the new style of art?

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The Artists Garden at Eragny 1898

• Pissaro painted his masterpieces later in his
  life. This work shows his mature style--short,
  quick application of color layered onto the
  canvas. Notice the bright color!
• What about this picture is Impressionistic?

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Rue St. Honore Rain Effect 1897

• This is a street scene in Paris painted from
  Pissarros apartment. Even on a gray day, see if
  you can see where the light hits and how the rain
  creates pockets of sparkle.

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The Apple Pickers 1886

• Pissaro was an enormous influence on his peers.
  Cezanne, Gauguin, Manet, Monet, Degas, and Seurat
  all counted him as a friend. He was very
  generous with his time and support of the new
  movement in art. He was the only artist to
  participate in all eight RefusJs exhibits.

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Spring Blossom 1877

• When viewing an Impressionist work in person,
  walk ALL the way around it -- the perspective
  changes dramatically depending on where you
  stand.
• Here, if you are stand on the right, you will
  notice the small house on the left side. If you
  stand far to the left, the house will be almost
  invisible.

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The Garden of Les Mathurines 1876

• Notice the vibrant color and painting technique
  here. When you stand close to this picture, you
  just see small dots of color that merge into the
  painting as you move back.
• The white circle by the lady is a reflecting
  ball, which were popular at the time.