View from Louveciennes (Printemps, Vue de Louveciennes)

Artist Camille Pissarro (1830 - 1903)

Datec. 1869-1870

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions52.7 × 81.9 cm

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineSir Hugh Lane Bequest, 1917, The National Gallery, London. In partnership with Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin.

Object number3265

DescriptionThis landscape is one of the finest extant examples of Pissarro's earlier work. It was probably painted in the spring of 1870. The previous year Pissarro had moved from Pontoise to Louveciennes, a village a few miles west of Paris, where fellow Impressionists Renoir, Monet and Sisley were then active. Louveciennes overlooks the Seine and is close to the Forest and Park of Marly-le-Roi.

One of the characteristics of Pissarro's work is a sense of place and he repeatedly analysed the same motif, looking at a scene from different angles. In this painting, Pissarro depicts the village of Voisins in the centre and the road leading towards the remains of the Marly aqueduct on the left horizon. Louveciennes itself is outside the field of vision, on the left.

A preoccupation with human interaction with the natural world is a characteristic of all of Pissarro's work. This is evident in this painting in the inclusion of some of the inhabitants of the village walking towards the aqueduct. These figures also serve to emphasise the directional flow of the road and lead one's eye into the composition.

Pissarro exhibited in all eight of the Impressionist exhibitions. Sir Hugh Lane bought this painting around 1906 from the Parisian dealer Durant-Ruel for £500. (MC)

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