Brettell, Richard., & Pissarro, Joachim. The Impressionist and the City: Pissarro's Series Paintings. London: Royal Academy of Arts, 1992.
This massive 230-page monograph is about Pissarro's series paintings that he created during the last ten years of his life from 1893 to 1903. A unique aspect of Pissarro's work is that he is the only Impressionist to extensively paint urban subjects to include it's movement of people, carriages, and boats.
After his experience with Pointillism had ended, Pissarro returned to the Impressionist style refreshed and ready to work. The author suggests that Pissarro's inspiration for series paintings came after viewing the exhibition of Monet's Rouen Cathedral series held by Durand-Ruel in 1895. The author also suggests that Pissarro's motive to produce urban paintings may have been due to the death of Pissarro's close friend, Gustave Caillebotte in 1894, who frequently painted urban cityscapes. This is unusual considering that most of Pissarro's subjects before this time were rural. Caillebotte's death may have also reminded Pissarro of his own mortality and charged his energy to produce work late in his life.
The one hundred and fifty-four prints in this book are fantastic to look at and compare. Pissarro, like Monet, repeats a motif under many different weather and lighting conditions, but unlike Monet, Pissarro did not produce his paintings with a particular exhibition in mind.
Sometimes there are as few as three paintings to a series, while on the other hand, there may be as many as twenty paintings devoted to a single motif. Pissarro was not satisfied with just painting the different lighting and weather conditions that affected a subject. He painted a motif until he felt it was exhausted, and could say nothing more about it.
All of Pissarro's series paintings were painted from indoors while looking down through an open window. By renting second floor apartments and hotel rooms, Pissarro was able to avoid inclement weather which affected his vision and also gain a high vantage point for capturing a better view of his subject.
Pissarro was a master at capturing masses of people that crowded the
streets of his paintings. Rather than painting each person, he painted
the crowd as a single object. These crowds are often seen rushing in
a great colored mass, similar to the waves portrayed in a Turner painting.
I also found Pissarro's skies very impressive, colorful, and textured.
The paint is spread on very thick with everything from a palette knife
to the artist's fingers. Movement is suggested throughout with swirling,
juicy brushstokes and jabbing slabs of paint.
I found it very difficult to put this book down. Every time I opened it, there was yet another new painting to look at and revel in. This book has ignited some ideas of my own for series painting. It would be a great idea to paint the various monuments of Washington, D.C. during different times and weather conditions. Once again I've added another artist to my ever-growing list of favorite artists.