The Woods at L'Hermitage, Pontoise
1879
Medium
Softground etching, aquatint, and drypoint on china paper; sixth state (per Shapiro)
Dimensions
sheet: 10 5/8 x 14 in. (27 x 35.6 cm) plate: 8 11/16 x 10 9/16 in. (22 x 26.9 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1921
Accession Number
21.46.1
Tags
Art Historical Context
Camille Pissarro'sThe Woods at L'Hitage, Pontoise* (1879) captures the lush, dappled light of a rural woodland near Pontoise, France, where the artist lived and worked from 1872 to 1884. A key figure in Impressionism, Pissarro often depicted the French countryside to explore the effects of natural light and atmosphere. This intimate landscape reflects his fascination with everyday rural scenes, rendered not in paint but through innovative printmaking techniques. Printed in softground etching, aquatint, and drypoint on delicate china paper, the work showcases Pissarro's experimental side. Soft...
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...