拍品專文
In July 1990 Pissarro moved into an apartment on the second floor of 28, rue Dauphine on the banks of the Ile de la Cité bordering the Pont Neuf. This location offered incomparable views of the old bridge, the verdure of the Vert-Galat with the statue of Henri IV, the Seine, the Pont des Arts and the Louvre. Wherever Pissarro turned his eye he found splendid open views, grandiose architecture, and broad expanses of water to inspire him. The result is a relevatory series of canvases in which the artist explored this new subject matter under ever-changing atmospheric conditions. The façade of the Louvre became a central motif in these works. The Louvre views were meant as a contrast with the boulevards, showing a "picturesque side of Paris", Pissarro said, as opposed to the bustling modernity which had attracted him to the boulevards.
For Pissarro, the view of the Louvre was "an absolutely exquisite and captivating subject" (Letter to Julius Elias, 17 Dec. 1902; Bailly and Herzberg 1991, p. 294) which provided the motivation for painting it at least fifty times in the last five years of his life. Indeed it became so assertive a presence in his oeuvre of this period that it came to serve to symbolise the whole city. Richard Brettel writes in the catalogue for the recent Royal Academy Exhibition of Pissarro's cityscapes, "In these late paintings, the Louvre becomes Paris, its towers, façades, and courtyards literally filling the picture...For Pissarro the Louvre, in the rain and snow, at dawn, in autumn and winter, became the centre of what might be called 'series' of series." ("Camille Pissarro and Urban View Painting" by Richard R. Brettel, p. XXXV, in The Impressionist and the City, London, 1992).
The concept of a series - the multiple representations of a given site as its aspects change - formed a key part of Pissarro's late works and particularly his Louvre paintings. Pissarro completed his first series of Louvre paintings in 1900; the second series on his return visit to the rue Dauphine at the end of 1901; while the third series, from which this work derives, occupied him almost until his death in 1903.
This work shows the view across the Pont Neuf with the Louvre running along the Seine cloaked in the grey mist of early morning. The pale colour variation distinguishes the Vert-Galat in the foreground in the lower left, fading gradually into the middle distance. Pissarro's sensitivity in depicting every nuance of light and colour is further demonstrated when it is compared to a later work from this series Le Louvre, Matin, Effet de Neige, painted in 1903 (Pissarro & Venturi 1279) which uses the same vantage point but softer grey tones conveying a more overcast effect.
The authenticity of this work has kindly been confirmed by Joachim Pissarro who will be including it in his forthcoming revision of the Pissarro and Venturi catalogue raisonné
For Pissarro, the view of the Louvre was "an absolutely exquisite and captivating subject" (Letter to Julius Elias, 17 Dec. 1902; Bailly and Herzberg 1991, p. 294) which provided the motivation for painting it at least fifty times in the last five years of his life. Indeed it became so assertive a presence in his oeuvre of this period that it came to serve to symbolise the whole city. Richard Brettel writes in the catalogue for the recent Royal Academy Exhibition of Pissarro's cityscapes, "In these late paintings, the Louvre becomes Paris, its towers, façades, and courtyards literally filling the picture...For Pissarro the Louvre, in the rain and snow, at dawn, in autumn and winter, became the centre of what might be called 'series' of series." ("Camille Pissarro and Urban View Painting" by Richard R. Brettel, p. XXXV, in The Impressionist and the City, London, 1992).
The concept of a series - the multiple representations of a given site as its aspects change - formed a key part of Pissarro's late works and particularly his Louvre paintings. Pissarro completed his first series of Louvre paintings in 1900; the second series on his return visit to the rue Dauphine at the end of 1901; while the third series, from which this work derives, occupied him almost until his death in 1903.
This work shows the view across the Pont Neuf with the Louvre running along the Seine cloaked in the grey mist of early morning. The pale colour variation distinguishes the Vert-Galat in the foreground in the lower left, fading gradually into the middle distance. Pissarro's sensitivity in depicting every nuance of light and colour is further demonstrated when it is compared to a later work from this series Le Louvre, Matin, Effet de Neige, painted in 1903 (Pissarro & Venturi 1279) which uses the same vantage point but softer grey tones conveying a more overcast effect.
The authenticity of this work has kindly been confirmed by Joachim Pissarro who will be including it in his forthcoming revision of the Pissarro and Venturi catalogue raisonné