Camille Pissarro French Impressionist in London
Pissarro paints Londons Suburbs and New Victorian Railways
Jul 25, 2009
Camille Pissarro arrived in London at the end of 1870. He was fleeing the Franco-Prussian war and was accompanied by his partner, Julie Vellay, and their two children, Lucien, aged seven, and Jeanne Rachel aged five. London was a thriving, massive, city with commuters arriving to work from the growing suburbs on the expanding railway lines. Pissarro was fascinated by these innovations.
Camille Pissarro Upper Norwood in the Snow
This was Pissarro's first visit to England and the family settled at Canham's Dairy, Westow Hill, Upper Norwood. Soon after his arrival, the artist painted Upper Norwood in Snow.(see pics below)
This beautiful painting shows a wintery sky, a snowy road receding up past typical London suburban homes, a stark tree cutting through the sky and smoke coming from one of the chimneys. The scale of the scene is emphasised by the figures, two women talking and a gentleman approaching them. You can almost feel the chill of the bright winter's day.
Camille Pissarro Upper Norwood, Crystal Palace
Joseph Paxton's famous Crystal Palace created for the Great Exhibition of 1851 was moved to South London in 1854. Pissarro's painting, Upper Norwood, Crystal Palace, London was unusual in that the Palace is seen from a suburban vantage point.
Notice how the wide road sweeps towards a row of of semi-detached homes and it is only the protruding tower in the distance on the right that leads our eye to the glass roof of the Crystal Palace. It is very much a part of the suburban landscape. Pissarro gives us a unique suburban view of an architectural tour-de-force.
Camille Pissarro The Serpentine, Hyde Park
Pissarro's second visit to London was in 1890. He was sixty and his eyes were troubling him. He described the London parks and suburbs as 'superb' and painted The Serpentine, Hyde Park, Mist. However, it was on his third and final visit in 1892 that Pissarro moved to 1 Gloucester Terrace Kew. He was absolutely enchanted by Kew Gardens describing it in letters to his friends as 'a dream'.
Camille Pissarrro Bank Holiday Kew
At this period of his life Pissarro preferred working indoors, sitting by the window. Bank Holiday, Kew shows the view from a window, surveying the holiday crowd. Kew Green was also painted from his lodgings, showing a game of cricket, Pissarro's favourite sport.
Camille Pissarro The Train, Bedford Park
Pissarro's last visit to London in 1897 produced Stamford Brook Common showing a typical patch of London suburban life. Railway enthusiasts will revel in his The Train, Bedford Park. It shows a 'Puffing Jinney' steam train approaching the Bath Road signals.
Pissarro, like J M W Turner, loved trains. But whereas Turner's Rain, Steam and Speed is a dynamic interpretation of the new public transport, Pissarro's train is a leisurely chug through nineteenth century suburban London.
During his London visits Pissarro visited galleries and museums with Monet, married his partner, mentored and cared for his children, displayed his work at the Durand-Ruel galleries, and was rejected by the Royal Academy.
Most importantly for us, however, he painted a social record of a unique period of London's growth, giving life and vibrancy to a subject often described as mundane and uninspiring.
Source:
- Pissarro in London by Kathleen Adler (National Gallery Company, 2003)
See Also:
- Joseph Paxton Architect of Crystal Palace - Brief biography of Paxton who created the Crystal Palace which housed the Great Exhibition of 1851 and which features in Pissarro's work.
- J M W Turner's Rain Steam Speed - Examines Turner's painting of a Great Western steam engine, celebrating this technological wonder of the Industrial Revolution.
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