P is for Pissarro

Published on by Margaret
L'Hermitage a Pontoise 1867, oil on canvas

 Camille Pissarro (1830 – 1903) was one of the French Impressionist painters. In 1866 he moved to Pontoise on the banks of the River Oise, on the outskirts of Paris and lived there until 1884. He loved the area and painted 300 or so paintings in that period. L’Hermitage à Pontoise, the painting above, is one of my favourites of his, painted in a realistic rather than an impressionist style, showing an idyllic village scene and the hills behind. I like all the detail and his use of light and shade drawing attention to the figures on the road and highlighting the houses.

Red Roofs, 1877, oil on canvas

Ten years later he painted Red Roofs showing a corner of the village in winter with the traditional 18th century houses viewed through the trees. I like the blend of colours with the differing tones of the red of the roofs, fields and earth in the foreground, contrasting with the green of the grass and the blue of the sky. The twisting forms of the trees with their vertical trunks contrast sharply with the geometric shapes of the houses.

An ABC Wednesday post.

9 thoughts on “P is for Pissarro”

  2. Margaret – Thanks for sharing these; what a lovely use of colour there is in both paintings! Delightful! I like the earth tones in the foreground of the first and those lovely autumn shades in the other. I really like French Impressionists, and you’ve reminded me of why.

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  4. I don’t have an artistic eye but both of these paintings are very pleasing to me, particularly the realistic view of the village. Makes you want to walk down that road and see what the village is like.

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