Camille Pissarro (10 July 1830 - 13 November 1903) was a French Impressionist painter. His importance resides not only in his visual contributions to Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, but also in his patriarchal standing among his colleagues, particularly Paul Cézanne and Paul Gauguin. Jacob-Abraham-Camille Pissarro was born at Charlotte Amalie (St.
Thomas), Virgin Islands, to Abraham Gabriel Pissarro, a Portuguese Sephardic Jew, and Rachel Manzano-Pomié, from the Dominican Republic. Pissarro lived in St. Thomas until age 12, when he went to a boarding school in Paris.
He returned to St. Thomas where he drew in his free time. Pissarro was attracted to anarchism, an attraction that may have originated during his years in St.
Thomas. In 1852, he traveled to Venezuela with the Danish artist Fritz Melbye. In 1855, Pissarro left for Paris, where he studied at various academic institutions (including the École des Beaux-Arts and Académie Suisse) and under a succession of masters such as Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Gustave Courbet, and Charles-François Daubigny.
Corot is sometimes considered Pissarro's most important early influence; Pissarro listed himself as Corot’s pupil in the catalogues to the 1864 and 1865 Paris Salons. His finest early works (See Jalais Hill, Pontoise, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) are characterized by a broadly painted (sometimes with palette knife) naturalism derived from Courbet, but with an incipient Impressionist palette.
French Impressionist (1803-1903). Also contributed to Post-Impressionism, the only artist to contribute to both forms in exhibition. Considered a major figure in Impressionism; studied with and... more
French Impressionist (1803-1903). Also contributed to Post-Impressionism, the only artist to contribute to both forms in exhibition. Considered a major figure in Impressionism; studied with and mentored many of the great names of the art form. As with many of his peers, he focused heavily on outdoor scenes, working to ensure his final pieces maintained the first impression of the scene without the artist adding flair. His level of detail often separated him from other Impressionists who weren't so rigid about the detailed realism of the first scene impression. Pissarro was also drawn to political anarchy and active in social change. Among his many works include: Landscape at Chaponval, Boulevard Montmartre, and Snow Effect at Eragny.