FR EN
1 / 3
an image of a painting of a house and trees in a fieldan oil painting of a farm scene with a fence and treesan old picture of a piece of paper with a key on it
Featured lot selected by the auctions House.
Hermitage Fine Art

8 - CAMILLE PISSARRO (1830–1903)
See original version (French)

Estimate €25,000 - €35,000
Sale commission
Description
CAMILLE PISSARRO (1830–1903) Landscape at Louveciennes monogrammed ‘C.P.’ (bottom left) pastel on paper 22.8 × 27.6 cm Dated c. 1869 PROVENANCE: Lucien Pissarro, the artist’s son, London O’Hana Gallery, London, from 1957 to March 1975 (label on the reverse) Sotheby’s New York, Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture, 19 October 1995, lot 5 Christie’s New York, Impressionist and Modern Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture, Part II, 12 November 1997, lot 230 Private collection LITERATURE: L. R. Pissarro and L. Venturi, Camille Pissarro, his art – his work, Paris, 1939, vol. I, p. 289, no. 1508, ill. vol. II, no. 291 *Landscape at Louveciennes* belongs to a pivotal period in Camille Pissarro’s artistic development. Having settled in Louveciennes in the spring of 1869, the artist found an environment there particularly conducive to his explorations of landscape and the effects of light. The village and its surroundings thus became a veritable open-air laboratory, frequented at the same time by several artists who would form the core of the future Impressionist movement, notably Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley and Auguste Renoir. Produced around 1869, this pastel bears witness to Pissarro’s growing interest in painting en plein air and in the direct depiction of atmospheric variations. At this time, his pictorial language was gradually evolving: his compositions remained structured by simple planes and a careful observation of the subject, whilst his brushwork became freer and more attuned to the effects of light and colour. This Louveciennes period thus represents a crucial stage in the artist’s journey towards Impressionism. The choice of pastel—a technique particularly suited to spontaneity and the capture of fleeting effects—allows Pissarro here to capture the landscape with great immediacy. The work forms part of a series of depictions of Louveciennes produced by the artist from 1869 onwards, whilst he devoted himself to observing the transformations of nature, the seasons and the light in the immediate surroundings of his new home. The significance of this early period is all the greater given that a considerable proportion of Pissarro’s work was lost during the Franco-Prussian War. Forced to leave Louveciennes in 1870 as Prussian troops advanced, the artist subsequently discovered that a large proportion of the works he had left behind had been destroyed. Writing from England to Louis Retrou in 1871, Pissarro lamented the scale of this loss: ‘He managed to save about forty of them, and I had between twelve and fifteen hundred – paintings, studies, sketches – the work of twenty years of my life.’ This destruction lends the pre-war works that have survived a particular significance: they provide a better understanding of Pissarro’s artistic development on the eve of the birth of Impressionism. At the buyer’s request, we shall be happy to provide a general report on the condition of the lot described above. However, as we are not professional conservators or restorers, we strongly advise potential buyers to carry out their own inspection or to consult a specialist of their choice to obtain a full assessment of the lot’s condition. Descriptions of items provided in the catalogue or by correspondence are for information purposes only and should not be regarded as a definitive assessment. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSION REGARDING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD ‘AS IS’, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALE PUBLISHED IN THE CATALOGUE.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale From 19th-century art to modern art, Eastern European art, icons, Camille Pissarro, Jean-Baptiste Olive, Lynn Chadwick, Léon Bakst.
Auction location
Auction time 10/27/2026 at 2:30 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
You may also like