Camille Pissarro, his place in Modernism

"I like Pissarro, he was an anarchist, he reacted against the art establishment and the bourgeoisie"

Just thought it a nice idea on publishing some of my artist research, this was an essay on defining or attempting to define a modernist artist.

Camille Pissarro was born in 1830 and died in 1903, he is recognized as a leading impressionist landscape painter, mostly of the rural natural scene but also as a painter of the city and of the figure. I like Pissarro, he was an anarchist, he reacted against the art establishment and the bourgeoisie, putting him firmly as a major 

contributor within the modernism movement. 

Camille Pissarro did not emerge from the normal established art school route, Pissarro was born away from France in the Danish Caribbean island colony of St Thomas and his earliest influence came from the Danish botanical painter and illustrator Fritz Melbye whom Pissarro became acquainted with whilst sketching on the dockside at the busy port of Charlotte Amalie. By 1850 the friendship led Melbye to invite Pissarro to Venezuela. Venezuelan art historian Alfredo Boulton said of Melbye 'Pissarro could not have learned such modality from any other, whom he had seen using certain tones nobody dared to use in those days to depict nature' (Pissarro, 1993, p.25.). Sketches from this period also show Pissarro's interest in ordinary folk in rural and natural environments. On returning from Venezuela Pissarro soon moved to Paris arriving in 1855, which coincided with the world fair an event that would further influence Pissarro's painting. Exhibiting at the fair were two painters that impressed Pissarro, Jean Baptiste Camille Corot and Gustave Courbet, both of whom are arguable the earliest of the modernist painters. On meeting Corot, Pissarro managed to come under his tutelage an influence you can see in 'The Banks of the Marne' when compared to Corot's 'The High Ground at Sevres on the Chemin Troyon'. Both paintings depict a lone peasant woman walking down a rural track, framed by a high tree line on one side and a sparser tree line on the other, embracing the track and guiding the viewer to the horizon. There is little doubt of Corot's influence on Pissarro, at his early exhibitions Pissarro described himself 'as a pupil of Corot' (Doeser, 1994 p.1.). 'The Banks of the Marne' also has an early indication of impressionism, a shaft of bright vivid sunlight extents from the left side of the painting giving the impression of something outside the composition, the positioning of which balances the picture perfectly. 

           

Camille Pissarro, 'The Banks of the Marne',               Corot, 'The High Ground at Sevres on the Chemin Troyon', 

1864, Glasgow City Art Gallery                                      1834-40, Private collection 

Another clear influence on Pissarro was Courbet, on being asked what was impressionism about, Pissarro 

replied 'We like Delacroix, Courbet, Daumier and all those who have something in their guts' (Pissarro, 1993 p.95.) the paintings 'Young Ladies of the Village' by Courbet and 'The Donkey Ride at La Roche' by Pissarro have very similar subjects, both depict a rural scene, both have bourgeoisie and peasant figures in the foreground, the influence here is also compositional but there is a marked difference in the paintings message and a difference that allows us to see the anarchist in Pissarro, Pissarro's painting highlights the real social injustice of the time, the well to do family ignore the pauper children, oblivious to their poverty, there is a sad reality to the picture, in the painting by Courbet the rich are depicted as being charitable, handing the poor child a monetary gift, the painting has a happier message.  

                         

Gustave Courbet, 'Young Ladies of the Village',                             Pissarro Camille, 'The Donkey Ride at La Roche Guyon', 

1851, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.                             1864, Mr Tim Rice, London.

Pissarro's political persuasions and dissatisfaction with the rules set by the establishment would lead to a 

pivotal event. Pissarro embarked on setting up a co-operative society where artists could exhibit as many of 

their works as they liked, the first of eight exhibitions opened 15th April 1874, among the artists exhibiting where 

Pissarro, Degas, Monet, Renoir, Morisot and Sisley. The exhibition was not a success and was mocked by the art establishment, one of Pissarro's paintings 'The Hoar Frost' came in for some harsh ridicule from traditionalist art critic and journalist Louis Leroy who recounted showing a friend the landscape: 

 "What on earth is that?",  

"You see.....a hoarfrost on deeply ploughed furrows" 

"Those furrows? That frost? But they are palette scrapings placed uniformly on a dirty canvas. It is neither head nor tail, top nor bottom, front nor back." 

"Perhaps....but the impression is there" 

"Well, it’s a funny impression!" ' (Lloyd, 1981, p.58.) 

A name for a new movement, born from ridicule.  

The painting 'The Hoar Frost' is typical of Pissarro, it shows a rural scene in natural tones, a peasant figure is depicted, there is a use of deep shadow and highlights  to draw the viewer into the composition, we see shadows of trees set behind the artist, an impression of what is there. The paint has been applied by pallet knife and bare unprimed canvas is left exposed. Compositional the painting is a glimpse, a close up, a feeling of the nature and atmosphere, the sensation.  

 

Pissarro Camille, 'The Hoar Frost' 1873, Musee d'Orsay, Paris.

Pissarro would exhibit at all 8 impressionist shows, the only impressionist to do so, he became known as the Grand father of the Impressionists, he was an influence and mentor for post-impressionist Gauguin, Matisse and also Paul Cezanne whom he met in  1861. During the period from 1874 until 1886 Pissarro and Cezanne worked and shared ideas on many occasions, even painting together, they both had a distaste for the academic tradition and it is this distaste for the traditional that places Pissarro firmly as a Modernist. Cezanne described Pissarro as 'humble and colossal' (Doeser, 1994, p.4.).  Modernism, a reaction against the traditional, born out in Pissarro's paintings and actions was an attitude of rebellion in shades, light, composition and subject.