Thursday, September 26, 2019

Making a Good Impression(ist)

This extraordinary original etching is "Les Faneuses" (The Haymakers) by Camille Pissarro, an important figure in  the French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist movements.  The etching is from a rare limited edition of Theodore Duret's "Histoire des Peintres Impressionnistes," published in Paris. Theodore Duret was an author and art critic and one of the early supporters of the Impressionists.   


Warm-hearted and gentle natured, Pissarro was not only a talented and creative artist throughout his life, he was a fatherly figure and beloved teacher to many major artists. Born in 1830 on the island of St.Thomas, Pissarro arrived in Paris in 1855 to study art. There he befriended several younger artists, such as Claude Monet and Paul Cézanne. All were dissatisfied with the strictures of the Paris Salon regarding art, preferring to paint outdoors and capturing people in natural settings and poses, portraying the world around them without artifice. Pissarro was one of the founding figures in establishing an alternate to the Paris Salon, joining with other Impressionist artist in 1873 to establish the "Société Anonyme des Artistes, Peintres, Sculpteurs et Graveurs."  He was a vital figure in the Impressionist movement, not only for his own artistry and teaching, but also for his ability to sooth over disputes among the younger members that threatened to fracture the group.   Later, Pissarro would briefly join the Neo-Impressionist movement, working with artists such as Georges Seurat. He befriended and mentored both Paul Gauguin and Vincent Van Gogh. Throughout his long artistic career, Pissarro painted preferred to paint people in realistic settings, often portraying laborers in their humble homes or toiling in the fields with dignity and humanity, yet not idealizing them or sentimentalizing them. This etching of women working in a hayfield is such an example.


On the back the frame is a certificate of authenticity. 




The etching is beautifully matted and framed.



All posted items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!
8134-51


No comments:

Post a Comment