Camille Pissarro

Lore & Background

Pissarro was born to Frederick Abraham Gabriel Pissarro and Rachel Manzano-Pomié on Saint Thomas. His father, a merchant of Portuguese Jewish descent, sent him to boarding school in France at age twelve. There, he studied at the Savary Academy and developed an appreciation for French art masters. After returning to Saint Thomas, he worked as a port clerk but practiced drawing in his free time. Inspired by Danish artist Fritz Melbye, he left his family and job to paint in Venezuela for two years.

In 1855, Pissarro moved to Paris, where he worked as an assistant to Anton Melbye and studied under Camille Corot. He also enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts and Académie Suisse, but found their teaching stifling. He befriended Claude Monet, Armand Guillaumin, and Paul Cézanne, sharing their dissatisfaction with the official Paris Salon. In 1873, he helped establish a collective society of fifteen aspiring artists, acting as a pivotal figure in holding the group together.

Pissarro is the only artist to have shown work at all eight Paris Impressionist exhibitions from 1874 to 1886. He later adopted Neo-Impressionism at age 54, studying and working alongside Georges Seurat and Paul Signac. He was described by art historian John Rewald as the 'dean of the Impressionist painters' for his wisdom and balanced personality.

Reader's Guide

Camille Pissarro's significance lies in his dual contributions to Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, and his role as a mentor and stabilizing force among avant-garde artists. He was the only painter to exhibit in all eight Impressionist exhibitions, demonstrating his commitment to the movement. His insistence on painting individuals in natural settings without artifice or grandeur was called 'revolutionary' by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Pissarro acted as a father figure not only to the Impressionists but also to major Post-Impressionists including Paul Cézanne, Georges Seurat, Paul Gauguin, and Vincent van Gogh. Cézanne stated that Pissarro 'was a father for me. A man to consult and a little like the good Lord.' His later adoption of Neo-Impressionism at age 54 shows his willingness to evolve artistically. Pissarro's legacy is that of a foundational figure who bridged movements and supported the careers of many leading artists of his era.

Did You Know?

• Pissarro was born on the island of Saint Thomas, then part of the Danish West Indies, now in the US Virgin Islands.
• He was the only artist to show work at all eight Paris Impressionist exhibitions from 1874 to 1886.
• Paul Cézanne called Pissarro 'a father for me. A man to consult and a little like the good Lord.'
• Pissarro adopted the Neo-Impressionist style at age 54, working alongside Georges Seurat and Paul Signac.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro (10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist landscape-painter with important contributions to both Impressionism and Post-Impressionism." — Camille Pissarro "I am settled in France, and as for the rest of my history as a painter, it is bound up with the impressionistic group." — Camille Pissarro "Lighten your palette [his remark to Cézanne circa 1873, to encourage Cézanne to use bright colors], paint only with the three primary colours and their derivatives." — Camille Pissarro "Renoir is a great success on the Salon; I think he is 'launched'. All the better! It's a very hard life, being poor." — Camille Pissarro