CAMILLE PISSARRO | Paysannes assises gardant des vaches

Sale: Sotheby's, New York, May 12, 1999, lot 235
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Executed on linen laid down on board. The edges are slightly unevenly cut. There is a tiny dent in the green pigment towards the centre of the right edge. Examination under UV light reveals no evidence of retouching. Colours are fresh and bright. This work is in overall very good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

In his critique of the seventh Impressionist exhibition, the novelist and art critic, J. K. Huysmans, commented on the work of Pissarro, noting that "Pissarro exhibits a whole series of rural men and women, and once again reveals himself in a new light... The human figure often takes on a biblical air in his work. But not anymore. Pissarro has completely detached himself from the memory of Millet.  He paints his country people without false grandeur, simply as he sees them. His delightful young girls in red stockings, his old woman in a headscarf, his shepherdesses and washerwomen, his peasant women, cutting the hay or eating; all are true, little masterpieces" (quoted in Joachim Pissarro, Camille Pissarro, New York, 1993, p. 157). Painted in 1886, Paysannes assises gardant des vaches, is an example of the Divisionist style, which Pissarro explored for the first time for the eighth and final Impressionist exhibition of 1886, and which he went onto develop over the years that followed. According to Pissarro, Impressionism was already in decline in 1883. While painting peasants at work, a subject inspired by Millet, he adopted the Divisionist technique under the influence of Suerat, who declared Pissarro the first Impressionist painter to convert to the Neo-Impressionist style. This artwork is a striking example of Pissarro's Pointillist style. His use of short, fragmented brushstrokes captures the dazzling effect of the sun on a prairie and creates contrasts of vivid colours, without ever straying from the Impressionist ideals in terms of light and atmosphere.



This work is accompanied by an Attestation of Inclusion from the Wildenstein Institute, and it will be included in the forthcoming Pissarro Digital Catalogue Raisonné, currently being prepared under the sponsorship of the Wildenstein Plattner Institute, Inc.