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Kunsthalle Mannheim / Cem Yücetas

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Le petit pont, Pontoise

Die kleine Brücke, Pontoise
The Little Bridge, Pontoise
1875

Camille Pissarro

(1830-1903)

Material / Technik
oil paint
canvas
Kategorie des Exponats
Malerei
Gattung
landscape painting
Erwerbungsjahr
1912
Maße
65,50 cm x 81,50 cm
Location

Hector-Bau > Ebene 1 > Kubus 1

Intro

»The Little Bridge, Pontoise«, originates from one of Camille Pissarro’s most important creative periods. In 1874 he participated in the first group exhibition of the Impressionists in Paris with five paintings, for which the term “Impressionism” was first coined—by a critic who rejected their work. In addition, since 1872, Pissarro had been working intensely with Paul Cézanne (1839–1906), who lived in the immediate vicinity of Pontoise. Both artists exercised a mutual influence on each other and began to experiment in their landscape pictures.

Pissarro’s painting lives from the intense green tones and a far lusher palette than the one he employed in the 1860s. The dense foliage covers most of the sky, garlanding the sand-colored bridge in the center of the picture. The artist uses a palette knife to configure the reflections on the surface of the water, giving them a more distinctly planar character. In turn, the play of light, which emphasizes the fleeting quality of the sensory impression, is achieved through an interleaving of different green tones, which Pissarro blends together in a variety of ways across the entire picture space.

Creditline

Kunsthalle Mannheim

Inhalt und Themen
forest
landscape
river
bridge
trees
reflection
green
idyll
Stille
impressionism
polychrom polychromatic
light
France
heiter
quiet
Audio file

Dense, lush foliage covers most of the sky. The sand-colored bridge in the center is also hidden behind the greenery. It reappears in the reflection in the river flowing beneath the »little bridge«.

Camille Pissarro’s playful treatment of green tints and perspective virtually pulls the viewer into the painting. Deep, intense coloring renders branches and twigs almost tangible, as if we were walking along the footpath at the left edge of the image. The river gently murmurs below us, leaves are dancing above us in the gentle breeze.

As an Impressionist painter, Pissarro tried to capture exactly that. Using quick brushstrokes and dabs he lends a vibrant lightness to his perception of the little bridge. Nevertheless, the interplay of light streaming through the tops of the trees underlines the fleetingness of sensory impressions. These are his very own sensory impressions immortalized in the painting before us.

During the 1870ies Pissarro used to live in Pontoise, where this artwork was created. The natural surroundings of this small town to the northwest of Paris inspired him and his friend Paul Cézanne to experiment. During this time, a multitude of paintings were created, some of which were displayed in the Paris Impressionist exhibitions. 

By the way: It was only for these exhibitions that the term »Impressionists« had been invented. Originally, it had been coined as a negative term by a hostile critic.

Werke von Camille Pissarro

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