“Humble and colossal” impressionism by Camille Pissarro

The Thyssen Museum in Madrid brings us this summer the exhibition of 79 Pisarro’s paintings, chronologically ordered by the places he used to live in and which inspired his work.

The big walnut in Eragny

Pissarro was born in Santo Tomás in the summer of 1830 but his determination for devoting himself to painting, against his father´s will, made him move to France where he got in touch with Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir and Alfred Sisley. His style was always linked to impressionism and he was a strong collaborator in the organization of activities in the Parisian impressionist group.

Camille Pissarro with music by Maurice Ravel

His anarchist policy ideology made him leave the parisian circle and he moved to Pontoise where he stayed nearly until the end of his days.

The exhibition is organized in five sections chronologically ordered from his early begining, prior to impresionism, to his return to the city, passing by Louveciennes and Pontoise.

On the road to impressionism. Sample of his first works from areas around Paris such as La Varenne-Saint-Hilaire View from Champigny and Banks of the Marne.
Louveciennes-London-Louveciennes 1869-1872. In this stage Pissarro worked in collaboration with Monet resulting in the new impressionist style. It’s a very determinant stage in his work where we can highlight paintings such as Near Sydenham Hill and Dulwich College.

Dulwich College

Pontoise Revisited, 1872–82. The painter came back to France but the economic difficulties continued. His Works at this stage are characterized by a rural athmosphere but with evident traces of the incipient industrial development. The Climb, Rue de la Côte-du-Jalet, Pontoise is a good simple of this period.
Eragny Landscapes 1884-1903. This will be the last stage before his return to the city, his work is plenty of orchards and prairies with fruit trees as main characters, canvases such as the Field and the Great Walnut Tree in Winter, Eragny and The Orchard at Eragny.

El huerto de Eragny

City views. The very last stage of his life, when he finally got the comercial success. Tired of the rural views, Pissarro is now focused on urban landscapes, painting wonderfull bird view series such as the Avenue de l’Opéra, the Boulevard Montmartre, the Louvre, and the Tuileries Garden.