Camille Pissarro

Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter

Camille Pissarro was born on 10 July 1830 on the island of St. Thomas.^[1] Art historian John Rewald called Pissarro the "dean of the Impressionist painters".^[2] From 1874 through 1886, eight Paris Impressionist exhibitions took place, and Pissarro is the sole artist whose work appeared in every one of them.^[3]

Last updated 2026-09-30 from the source article.

Quick Facts

Birth name: Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro
Born: 10 July 1830
Birthplace: Charlotte Amalie, Saint Thomas, Danish West Indies
Died: 13 November 1903
Place of death: Paris, France
Field: Painting
Movement: Impressionism; Post-Impressionism

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

After schooling, Pissarro worked as a port clerk for his father but practiced drawing during breaks.^[4] In 1855 he moved to Paris and worked as an assistant to painter Anton Melbye.^[5] He studied at École des Beaux-Arts and Académie Suisse but found the teaching methods "stifling"^[2] In 1885 he met Georges Seurat and Paul Signac, who used small patches of pure colors.^[6]

Frederick Abraham Gabriel Pissarro, Camille's father, was a merchant whose ancestry was Portuguese Jewish and who possessed French nationality.^[1] The inspiration to paint outdoors, known as "plein air," came to Pissarro from Corot.^[2] A collective of fifteen aspiring artists was established in 1873 with Pissarro's help.^[2] Anarchist circles included Pissarro, who held firm egalitarian beliefs.^[7]

What the cited sources add

Shirley Seaton's account notes that Pissarro arrived in Bedford Park on 7 May 1897 and completed seven oil paintings.^[8] Seaton states that Pissarro portrayed cricket games on a field adjoining the Common.^[8] Seaton reports that Pissarro painted from a balconied flat roof at 62 Bath Road.^[8] The Van Gogh Museum acquired 91 prints by Pissarro in 2019.^[9]

The Van Gogh Museum notes Pissarro created some 200 prints during his career.^[9] The Van Gogh Museum states that Degas and Pissarro collaborated closely in 1879-1880.^[9]

References

Wikipedia, "Camille Pissarro" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hamilton, "Pissarro, Camille", Macmillan Educational Corporation, 1976, p. 83; Eiermann, Wold, "Camille Pissarro (exhibition in Stuttgart)", Hatje Cantz Verlag, 1999, p. 1 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Camille Pissarro" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rewald, "Camille Pissarro", Harry N. Abrams, 1989 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Camille Pissarro" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bade, "Monet and the Impressionists", Fog City Press, 2003, p. 81 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Camille Pissarro" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: John, "Die Geschichte des Impressionismus", Du Mont, 1986, p. 11; "The Great Masters", Quantum Books, 2004, p. 279–319; John, "Die Geschichte des Impressionismus", Du Mont, 1986, p. 11 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Camille Pissarro" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Camille Pissarro, Art Gallery of New South Wales, (2005); "Exhibition", St. Thomas Synagogue (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Camille Pissarro" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Cogniat, Raymond, Pissarro, Crown (1975), p. 92. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Camille Pissarro" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Herbert, "Artists and Anarchism: Unpublished Letters of Pissarro, Signac and Others – II", The Burlington Magazine, 1960, p. 517–522; Herbert, "Artists and Anarchism: Unpublished Letters of Pissarro, Signac and Others – II", The Burlington Magazine, 1960, p. 517–522; Berg, "Pissarro and Anarchism", History Workshop, 1991, p. 226–228; Berg, "Pissarro and Anarchism", History Workshop, 1991, p. 226–228; Thomson, "Camille Pissarro's 'Turpitudes sociales' revisited, part I: politics, caricature and family tensions in 1889", The Burlington M en.wikipedia.org
Seaton, Shirley, "Camille Pissarro: Paintings of Stamford Brook, 1897", Brentford & Chiswick Local History Journal, 1997. facts only, no text reused. brentfordandchiswicklhs.org.uk
"Print collection acquisition: 91 prints by Pissarro", Van Gogh Museum. facts only, no text reused. vangoghmuseum.nl

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Camille Pissarro (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.