For Pissarro, drawing was an activity which was central and indispensable to his art. As he wrote to his son, Lucien, in 1883, “It is good to draw everything, anything…When you have trained yourself to see a tree truly, you know how to look at the human figure.” This statement underscores a radical innovation of the Impressionists: the redistribution of the hierarchical roles and functions of all media, and a redefinition of drawings as autonomous works of art rather than merely ancillary techniques to prepare for the creation of a nobler end. Amongst the Impressionists, Pissarro, along with Edgar Degas, pushed an interest in diverse techniques, media and processes the furthest. Christie’s is honored to present the following selection of works on paper by Pissarro, which demonstrates the artist’s lifelong interest in drawing. He was against picturesque or romantic notions of nature, and his drawings are accordingly populated with peasants, field workers, and ordinary people going about their daily chores. Pissarro strongly believed in the representation of the world in its raw, unadorned form, and his obsession with drawing lied in its lack of artifice, false effects or deception. For Pissarro, the act of drawing held with it pure, straight sincerity. We would like to thank Joachim Pissarro for his assistance in cataloguing these works.Property from an Important Palm Beach Collection

Camille Pissarro (1830-1903)

Gardeuse de vache allongée sur un talus

Details

Camille Pissarro (1830-1903)
Gardeuse de vache allongée sur un talus
stamped with initials 'C.P.' (Lugt 613c; lower left) and stamped again with initials 'C.P.' (Lugt 613c; lower right)
pastel on paper
11 x 14 5/8 in. (27.9 x 37.1 cm.)
Drawn circa 1880

Provenance

Estate of the artist.
Veuve Rodo Pissarro, Paris (by descent from the above and until at least 1956).
Acquired by the family of the present owner, circa 1950.

Exhibited

Williamstown, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute and San Francisco, Legion of Honor, Pissarro’s People, June 2011-January 2012.

Brought to you by

Vanessa Fusco

vfusco@christies.com +1 212 636 2094

Lot Essay

This work will be included in the forthcoming Camille Pissarro catalogue critique of pastels and gouaches, currently being prepared under the sponsorship of the Wildenstein Institute.
Claire Durand-Ruel Snollaerts has confirmed that in her opinion this work is authentic.

For Pissarro, the human form was reflective of the human condition. His political radicalism and commitment to the figure is unique as compared to his Impressionist colleagues, and the present work exemplifies how Pissarro’s study of social and economic philosophy influenced his depictions of rural and domestic workers. He began a large series in 1880 of figure paintings devoted to rural females, either at work or at rest during the day. The present work shares a similar composition with the 1882 oil painting Le Repos, paysanne couchée dans l'herbe, Pontoise.
(fig. 1) Camille Pissarro, Le Repos, paysanne couchée dans l'herbe, Pontoise, 1882. Kunsthalle Bremen.

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