Camille Pissarro 1830–1903

Camille Pissarro 1900
Camille Pissarro 1900

Camille Pissarro was a member of the Impressionist group - painters who saw light and movement as important in their paintings. He is less well-known than other members of the group like Monet and Degas, but they regarded him as almost the father figure of their group.
Pissarro painted with other Impressionists at different times and was a constant supporter of their activities. He also worked closely with Cézanne, an otherwise reclusive artist, for more than 25 years. They sometimes painted the same subject side by side, for example at Louveciennes and around Pontoise where Pissarro spent much of his working life.
His aim when painting was to record accurately the sensations he experienced when looking at nature. He tried several different styles of working to achieve this as seen in the contrasting Boulevard Montmartre La Nuit and Boulevard Montmartre, both painted from almost the same spot.