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Lot Essay
Camille Pissarro spent a number of years living in Pontoise, a town near Paris which formed the backdrop to some of the most important developments of Impressionism. La Côte des Mathurins à l'Hermitage, Pontoise, which has been in many exhibitions since it was created, was painted there in 1876, the year of the second Impressionist exhibition. While that show was to some extent a debacle in terms of sales and criticism, it also brought great attention to the Impressionists and their work; already by this time, it was noted that the submissions to the official Salon were beginning to take on Impressionist characteristics, showing the filtration of their new ideas and its increasing reception even in conservative quarters.
At this time, Pissarro and his family were staying at 18, rue de l'Hermitage. The large house shown in this painting was also on the rue de l'Hermitage, revealing that Pissarro was working in his immediate surroundings, as was often his technique (see J. Pissarro & C. Durand-Ruel Snollaerts, Pissarro: Catalogue critique des peintures, Vol. II, Paris, 2005, p. 321). In this picture, the building is shown to the right, with what appears to be a tall cypress tree creating a bold vertical effect, thrusting into the air beyond the top of the canvas in a manner reminiscent of the bars in Edgar Degas' ballet scenes. This compositional device and indeed the general structure of this landscape also recalls the work of Pissarro's friend and young follower, Paul Cézanne, with whom he had worked in the area around Pontoise in previous years. Pissarro himself was openly willing to admit of the period when the two artists had worked together that, 'he was influenced by me at Pontoise and I by him' (Pissarro, quoted in R.E. Shikes & P. Harper, Pissarro: His Life and Work, New York, 1980, p. 128).
The presence of the tree highlights the complex topography that would provide such an endless and fascinating challenge to Pissarro. In the background, the slopes of the Côte des Mathurins rise up, giving the impression that the artist himself was at a low point. This also has the effect of raising the horizon: the crisp, cloud-flecked sky in the background is present as an interrupted bar at the top of the painting, which is dominated by the receding landscape, shown in swathes rising diagonally towards their distant summit. Meanwhile, there is a wealth of details in the foreground and, in the middleground, a red figure provides a bold, vivid focal point and pictorial dynamism.
This picture was formerly in the collection of Baron Louis de Chollet, a prominent Swiss collector and member of a notable Fribourg family who was depicted by Balthus in a portrait with his daughters. His collection included works by Degas, Pablo Picasso, Alfred Sisley and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
At this time, Pissarro and his family were staying at 18, rue de l'Hermitage. The large house shown in this painting was also on the rue de l'Hermitage, revealing that Pissarro was working in his immediate surroundings, as was often his technique (see J. Pissarro & C. Durand-Ruel Snollaerts, Pissarro: Catalogue critique des peintures, Vol. II, Paris, 2005, p. 321). In this picture, the building is shown to the right, with what appears to be a tall cypress tree creating a bold vertical effect, thrusting into the air beyond the top of the canvas in a manner reminiscent of the bars in Edgar Degas' ballet scenes. This compositional device and indeed the general structure of this landscape also recalls the work of Pissarro's friend and young follower, Paul Cézanne, with whom he had worked in the area around Pontoise in previous years. Pissarro himself was openly willing to admit of the period when the two artists had worked together that, 'he was influenced by me at Pontoise and I by him' (Pissarro, quoted in R.E. Shikes & P. Harper, Pissarro: His Life and Work, New York, 1980, p. 128).
The presence of the tree highlights the complex topography that would provide such an endless and fascinating challenge to Pissarro. In the background, the slopes of the Côte des Mathurins rise up, giving the impression that the artist himself was at a low point. This also has the effect of raising the horizon: the crisp, cloud-flecked sky in the background is present as an interrupted bar at the top of the painting, which is dominated by the receding landscape, shown in swathes rising diagonally towards their distant summit. Meanwhile, there is a wealth of details in the foreground and, in the middleground, a red figure provides a bold, vivid focal point and pictorial dynamism.
This picture was formerly in the collection of Baron Louis de Chollet, a prominent Swiss collector and member of a notable Fribourg family who was depicted by Balthus in a portrait with his daughters. His collection included works by Degas, Pablo Picasso, Alfred Sisley and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.