Path at Pontoise
1882
Medium
Aquatint and drypoint in black on cream laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 15.2 × 11 cm (6 × 4 3/8 in.); Plate: 15.9 × 11.9 cm (6 5/16 × 4 11/16 in.); Sheet: 26.4 × 19.2 cm (10 7/16 × 7 9/16 in.)
Classification
aquatint
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
192881
Art Historical Context
Camille Pissarro, a founding father of Impressionism, captured the serene rural landscapes of France in *Path at Pontoise (1882). Living in the small town of Pontoise of Paris during the 1870s and 1880s, Pissarro frequently depicted its winding paths, humble cottages, and lush greenery, reflecting his fascination with everyday rural life and the play of natural light. This print, housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints and Drawings, exemplifies his shift toward printmaking in the early 1880s, a medium that allowed broader dissemination of his vision beyond oil paintings. Rendered in a...
About the Artist
Camille Pissarro · 1831–1903
Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) stands as the patriarch of Impressionism, the only artist to exhibit in all eight Impressionist exhibitions and a mentor whose influence shaped the trajectory of modern art. Born Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro on the Caribbean island of St. Thomas to a Jewish-Portuguese merchant family, he abandoned the family business to pursue painting, eventually settling in Paris i...