
Camille Jacob Pissarro Painting Reproductions Gallery 3 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.
500 Paintings of Pissarro
The State Hermitage Museum St. Petersburg Russia
The Tuileries Gardens
$420
$48.07
Private Collection
The Bassin des Tuileries
$560
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum Glasgow United Kingdom
The Tuileries Gardens
$518
$49.12
Private Collection
View of the Tuileries - Morning
$491
National Gallery of Art Washington USA
Place du Carrousel, the Tuileries Gardens
$451
$60.39
Private Collection
The Garden of the Hotel Berneval
$424
Private Collection
Route de Berneval-le-Petit (Maison Thievain)
$404
The State Hermitage Museum St. Petersburg Russia
Still LIfe with a Coffee Pot
$451
$48.07
Private Collection
Morning, Autumn Sunlight, Eragny
$491
Fuji Art Museum Tokyo Japan
Spring Morning, Cloudy, Eragny
$491
$50.11
Private Collection
Berneval Meadows, Morning
$435
Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts Moscow Russia
Avenue de l'Opera - Snow Effect
$578
$71.68
Ashmolean Museum Oxford United Kingdom
The Tuileries Gardens - Rainy Weather
$662
Metropolitan Museum of Art New York USA
The Garden of the Tuileries on a Winter Afternoon
$600
$57.74
Private Collection
Garden of the Louvre - Morning, Grey Weather
$504
Private Collection
The Carrousel - Autumn, Morning
$491
Private Collection
Varengeville, Sunset
$413
Archives Durand-Ruel Paris France
The Siesta, Eragny
$435
Private Collection
Grey Weather, Morning with Figures, Eragny
$424
Private Collection
Still Life with Spanish Peppers
$465
Private Collection
The Steading of the Auberge Ango, Varengeville
$404
Private Collection
Autumn in Eragny
$367
Dallas Museum of Art Texas USA
Place du Theatre Francais - Foggy Weather
$404
$59.74
Private Collection
Avenue de l'Opera, Place du Theatre Francais
$637