Selections from the Permanent Collection
Camille Pissarro (1830–1903) : The Hermitage at Pontoise

 

"In my opinion, the art that is the most corrupt is sentimental art. "

— Camille Pissarro [1]

About the artist

Jacob Camille Pissarro was born on July 10, 1830, on the West Indies island of St. Thomas where his father was a prosperous merchant. He received his early education at a boarding school near Paris. Returning to St. Thomas, the young man had little interest in the family business and spent his time sketching the picturesque port. At age 25, Pissarro abandoned this comfortable bourgeois existence to live in Paris. [more]

About this work

The Hermitage at Pontoise, ca. 1867.

The view represented here is a winding village path at the base of a cluster of houses in Pontoise, France, known as the Hermitage. The town of Pontoise lies approximately 25 miles northwest of Paris. Camille Pissarro lived here between 1866 and 1883, choosing the rural environs for a series of large-scale landscapes that have been called his early masterpieces. [more]

Footnotes:

1. Janine Bailly-Herzberg, ed. Correspondence de Camille Pissarro, vol. 1. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France; Pontoise: Valhermeil, 1980–91, p. 267.

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Art Explorations
	As a class, generate a list of words—nouns, verbs, adjectives—you associate with this painting. Choose several words from this list and compose a poem that is compatible with this work.
	In the school auditorium, project the slide onto the stage so that the image is large enough to form a stage set. Invite students to “step into” the painting and create a one-act play dramatizing the events depicted. Ask students to choose an appropriate musical overture as a prelude to their performance.
	Describe a day in the life of one of the people in this painting. Your response can be based on research or on a careful examination of this work.
	Create a drawing or painting that shows a landscape or cityscape of the place where you live. When finished compare your work with Pissarro’s depiction of his hometown.
	Imagine that you could step inside this painting and find yourself in a specific place within it. You may find yourself inside one of the houses, perched on a tree branch or relaxing in the tall grasses. Write an essay about your experience from this unique vantage point.
	This painting, at approximately five by six-and-a-half feet in size, is Pissarro’s largest. Using a tape measure mark off these dimensions in order to understand the scale. Paintings from this time were usually based on a strict size hierarchy, and paintings this large were usually reserved for what was considered to be important themes, such as historical events. To challenge this convention, some artists would maintain this large scale but instead paint scenes of everyday life. How might the impact of the painting change if it were very small? Twice as large? Do you think there are more or less important themes for art works? What would your “top five” important themes be?

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