Pissarro. Phaidon Colour Library

by Christopher Lloyd

Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) was not only a central figure in the Impressionist movement but a major influence on the development of modern art. He was the only artist to exhibit at all eight of the Impressionist exhibitions between 1874 and 1886, and his letters are a fascinating and invaluable source of information on the theoretical aspects and practical implications of Impressionism.

Pissarro’s career touched that of an extraordinary number of his contemporaries, to whom he was often a teacher and always a friend. In his early years he worked with Monet; in the 1870s he painted in close friendship with Cézanne; he was a guide for Gauguin, whom he introduced to the Impressionist group; and in the 1880s he flirted with Neo-Impressionism with Seurat.

This book charts the evolution of his painting, and celebrates his compositional brilliance, technical skill and innovatory approach, forty-eight full-page colour plated, combined with Christopher Lloyd’s illuminating text, constitute a superb introduction to the artist. His essay on Pissaro, first published in 1979, has been revised and updated, with the addition of commentaries to each plate written by Amanda Renshaw, and a wide selection of comparative illustrations.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Biography

128 pages, Paperback

Published August 12, 1998

About the author

Christopher Lloyd CVO is a British art historian and was Surveyor of The Queen's Pictures (1988–2005). Lloyd worked in the Department of Western Art at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford for twenty years. In 1972, he was appointed to a fellowship at Harvard University's Center for Renaissance Studies, Villa I Tatti, in Florence, Italy. During 1980–81, he was a visiting research curator at the Art Institute of Chicago, concentrating on the art of early Italy.

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely large format reproductions presented in chronological order, allowing one to trace the development of style and subject matter. For instance, I noticed an abrupt shift (for the better) when Pissarro started working literally side by side. According to the text the influence travelled in both directions. It would be interesting to see if that is equally obvious to me in Cezanne's works.

As well as commentary on each featured painting, there is a time-line biography and an introductory essay.

[Lilia Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful info into the art and the artist, positioning him perfectly into the world of Impressionism. What a man! Renoir said to associate with Pissarro was to be “tainted by revolution.” I hope people feel that way about me and my art someday 😂