Camille Pissarro
Pissarro was the only Impressionist with a big police file. He was a lifelong anarchist, influenced by Kropotkin and Proudhon, and his conviction in the need for social revolution was not theoretical. He was also the only artist to show at all eight Paris Impressionist exhibitions, from 1874[8] to 1886. Nobody else managed that.
Biography
He was born in 1830[8] in Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas, in the Danish West Indies. His father was a Portuguese Sephardic Jew; his mother was from the Dominican Republic. He grew up playing with children of African descent on the island, which may have seeded his later egalitarianism. In 1849[8] he met the Danish painter Fritz Melbye on St Thomas, who convinced him to paint full-time. He left for Paris.
He became the group's mentor, the elder statesman who taught without condescension. Cezanne, Gauguin, and later Seurat and Signac all learned from him. He introduced Cezanne to plein air painting and persuaded him to lighten his palette. He championed Gauguin when others were sceptical. When Seurat and Signac developed Pointillism, Pissarro was the first established Impressionist to adopt the technique, displaying new pointillist work alongside theirs at the 1886[8] exhibition. He said it was the next phase in the logical march of Impressionism[8]. He later abandoned it, calling the system too artificial.
From about his late forties, he suffered chronic dacryocystitis, an infection of the tear duct in his left eye. Dust and wind aggravated it badly. This forced him to paint indoors, behind closed windows, and directly changed his subject matter. The rural landscapes gave way to Parisian boulevards and crowds, viewed from hotel rooms above the street. The late paintings of Rouen, Paris, and Le Havre, with their elevated perspectives and atmospheric light, were partly a medical adaptation.
He died in 1903[8] in Paris, aged seventy-three.
Timeline
- 1830Born on 10 July on Saint Thomas in the Danish West Indies to a family of French-Portuguese Jewish descent.
- 1859At 29, attended the Academie Suisse in Paris, where he met Monet and Cezanne.
- 1874At 44, helped organise the first Impressionist exhibition in Paris.
- 1886At 56, adopted Pointillist technique after working with Seurat, the only Impressionist to do so.
- 1903Died on 13 November aged 73 in Paris. He exhibited in all eight Impressionist group exhibitions.
Notable Works
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Where to See Camille Pissarro
23 museums worldwide.
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125 works
National Gallery of Art
Washington D.C., United States
Mon–Sat 10:00–17:00, Sun 11:00–18:00 · Free
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13 works
Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago, United States
Mon 11:00-17:00, Tue closed, Wed 11:00-17:00, Thu 11:00-20:00, Fri-Sun 11:00-17:00 · $32 adults (Chicago/Illinois residents less; under 14 free)
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11 works
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Philadelphia, United States
Mon 10:00-17:00, Tue-Wed closed, Thu 10:00-17:00, Fri 10:00-20:45, Sat-Sun 10:00-17:00
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14 worksNational Gallery
London, United Kingdom
Daily 10:00–18:00 (Fri until 21:00) · Free
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21 works
Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York City, United States
Sun–Tue, Thu 10:00–17:00; Fri–Sat 10:00–21:00; closed Wed · Adults $30, students $17 (pay-what-you-wish for NY residents)
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8 worksMuseum of Fine Arts Boston
Boston, United States
Sun-Mon 10:00-17:00, Tue closed, Wed 10:00-17:00, Thu-Fri 10:00-22:00, Sat 10:00-17:00
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Camille Pissarro prints
Hand-finished archival prints from Camille Pissarro's body of work.
The Bell Tower at Bazancourt - Camille Pissarro
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Landscape at l'Hermitage, Pontoise - Camille Pissarro
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The Market Place - Camille Pissarro
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Banks of the Oise - Camille Pissarro
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The Hermitage, Effect of Snow - Camille Pissarro
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Avenue de l'Opera (Effect of Snow) - Camille Pissarro
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See all Camille Pissarro prints →Frequently Asked Questions
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Camille Pissarro was an Impressionist artist, and he showed at all eight Paris Impressionist exhibitions from 1874[8] to 1886.Was camille pissarro french?
Camille Pissarro was born on the island of Saint Thomas.When did camille pissarro die?
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Camille Pissarro began to draw while studying at a secondary school in Passy.Where can i see camille pissarro paintings?
Camille Pissarro's works can be seen at National Gallery of Art, Musée d'Orsay, Prints in the National Gallery of Art, and 2 other museums worldwide.Where did camille pissarro live?
Camille Pissarro was born in St Thomas, Danish Antilles.Who was camille pissarro's mother?
Camille Pissarro's mother was Rachel Pomié Manzana, born in Saint Thomas in 1795.Camille pissarro history?
Camille Pissarro was born on the island of Saint Thomas and sent to study in France.How were camille pissarro's paintings destroyed?
Camille Pissarro left his paintings behind when he fled to Brittany during the Franco-Prussian war.What was camille pissarro style of painting?
Camille Pissarro developed his own style, painting landscapes in the open air and building up forms from dabs of colour.Who was camille pissarro's wife?
Camille Pissarro was in love with his mother's kitchen maid, Julie Vellay, and intended to marry her.
Sources
Editorial draws on the following primary and tertiary references for Camille Pissarro.
- [1] museum Courtauld Gallery Used for: museum holdings.
- [2] museum Musée d'Art et d'Histoire Used for: museum holdings.
- [3] museum Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts Used for: museum holdings.
- [4] museum Hungarian National Gallery Used for: museum holdings.
- [5] museum Clark Art Institute Used for: museum holdings.
- [6] museum Yoshino Gypsum Used for: museum holdings.
- [7] wikidata Wikidata: Q134741 Used for: identifiers.
- [8] wikipedia Wikipedia: Camille Pissarro Used for: biography, birth dates, death dates, identifiers, movement attribution, nationality.
- [9] book Brodskaïa, Nathalia; , Impressionism and Post-Impressionism Used for: biography.
- [10] book Brodskaïa, Nathalia, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism (Essential) Used for: biography.
Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-07-15. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.
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