Lot Essay
Inspired by the example of Degas, Pissarro executed approximately 90 fans between 1878 and 1895. Until 1889, these fans were in the shape of a half-ring, with the center of the half circle left empty. In 1889, with Paysage avec un arc-en-ciel (Pissarro and Venturi, no. 1642; Coll. Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, Amsterdam), he experimented for the first time with a full half-circle format. The present fan belongs to a dozen or so fans in this format.
For Pissarro the adoption of the fan as an art form came
at a critical time, namely at the close of the 1870s.
To a certain extent the fan may have assisted Pissarro in
his search for compositional unity. The emphasis that had
to be placed on the two corners of the fan meant that figures
were given prominence against the background. Landscapes and
horizon lines in the upper half of the fan either have a
horizontal emphasis or else echo the curvature of the fan itself. Whilst many of the compositions are reworkings of earlier works, Pissarro also showed considerable originality in this format. He sought different atmospheric effects in compositions of seasonal import; but at the same time did not spurn more
'modern themes', such as the railway bridge at Pontoise and the
port at Rouen (Pissarro and Venturi, nos. 1619 and 1633). There
are also some fans in the Neo-Impressionist style. (C. Lloyd, Pissarro, London, Arts Council, exhibition catalogue, 1980, p. 233)
The present work is closely related to another gouache in a rectangular format, La Bergère d'Eragny, 1890 (Pissarro and Venturi, no. 1452) and an oil painting La Bergère, Eragny, 1892 (Pissarro and Venturi, no. 819).
For Pissarro the adoption of the fan as an art form came
at a critical time, namely at the close of the 1870s.
To a certain extent the fan may have assisted Pissarro in
his search for compositional unity. The emphasis that had
to be placed on the two corners of the fan meant that figures
were given prominence against the background. Landscapes and
horizon lines in the upper half of the fan either have a
horizontal emphasis or else echo the curvature of the fan itself. Whilst many of the compositions are reworkings of earlier works, Pissarro also showed considerable originality in this format. He sought different atmospheric effects in compositions of seasonal import; but at the same time did not spurn more
'modern themes', such as the railway bridge at Pontoise and the
port at Rouen (Pissarro and Venturi, nos. 1619 and 1633). There
are also some fans in the Neo-Impressionist style. (C. Lloyd, Pissarro, London, Arts Council, exhibition catalogue, 1980, p. 233)
The present work is closely related to another gouache in a rectangular format, La Bergère d'Eragny, 1890 (Pissarro and Venturi, no. 1452) and an oil painting La Bergère, Eragny, 1892 (Pissarro and Venturi, no. 819).