Camille Pissarro (1830-1903)

The Boulevard Montmartre
at Night, 1897

This picture is Pissarro's only night
scene. It is one of a series of views
that he painted of the Paris boulevard,
showing it at various times of the day
and in different weather conditions.
Here, the reflections of street lights
and shop fronts evoke the atmosphere
of a wet winter's evening.

Oil on canvas

NG4119. Bought, Courtauld Fund,
1925

831·))

Camille Pissarro (1830-1903)

The Marne at Chennevières, 1864-65

Oil on canvas

Chennevières is a village south-east of Paris
on the river Marne, opposite La Varenne-Saint-
Hilaire where Pissarro lived from 1863 to 1865.
This painting was probably exhibited at the
Paris Salon in 1865 and demonstrates perfectly
Pissarro's 'academic' manner at that time.
The composition is close to Daubigny, while
the range of colours and use of the palette knife
owe much to Gustave Courbet. A contemporary
guide to the river Marne described it as 'a
charming river, strewn with islands whose
vegetation rivalled that of the tropics'.

Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh