Biographies

The Pissarros operated a dry goods store in what is now known as the Pissarro Building, 14 Dronnigens Gade in Queen's Quarter, Charlotte Amalie.

"The sower in Montfoucault", 1875

His parents sent him to Paris when he was 12 to a small boarding school.
It was there that the director, seeing his interest in art, advised him to take "advantage of his life in the tropics by drawing coconut trees". When he returned to St. Thomas in 1847, this advice had marked his spirit as he devoted all his spare time to making sketches, not only of coconut trees and other exotic plants, but also of the daily life surrounding him.

Time and again he drew the donkeys and their carts on the sunny.

In many studies done from life he revealed himself to be a simple and sincere observer.

"The barn, morning, Eragny", 1893

Whenever his father sent him to the port to supervise arrivals, the young man took his sketchbook with him. He thus produced drawings of the animated life of the harbor with its sailboats gliding along the blue waters, coasting large, verdure-covered rocks capped by Danish citadels. Since he could not obtain permission to devote himself to painting, he ran away one day, leaving a note for his parents. In the company of Fritz Melbye, a Danish painter from Copenhagen whom he had met while sketching in the port, he went to Venezuela.

Having gained freedom at 23, he produced paintings and watercolours, and made countless drawings in pencil, ink and wash; many of these annotated in Spanish with the signature Pizzarro.

Pissarro went on to study in an art school but did not find himself suited to ordinary teaching. Instead, he frequented certain artists who had turned their attention to new creative concepts.

"Boulevard Montmartre, afternoon sun", 1897

In their works he began to see the emergence of distinct forms and his eye was guided by the way scenes and objects imprinted on the mind. Light then became an important matter for Pissarro. Painting with delicate or bold strokes of fluid light he felt he could reach something more emotional.

Most art connoisseurs of the time did not grasp the significance of what was to become impressionist painting and were distracted by this bold departure from the classic. Finding a personal expression was difficult for the young artist. He distanced himself from the influence of Melbye and Corot, passing through a period of severe self-questioning.

Then he had the extraordinarychance of meeting Monet and Cézanne - and through them many other artists. These friendships brought new insight and encouragement.

A few years after he had arrived in Paris, his parents left their business with a caretaker and settled in Paris; they had hired a maidservant from Burgundy, Julie Vellay who was to become Pissarro's greatest admirer and life long companion.

Place du Theatre-Francais", 1898

Discouraged by the attitude of the Salon juries which rejected his works, Pissarro joined Monet in 1874 for a project to organize independent exhibitions.

The challenges of Pissarro's own life were as arduous as those of the Impressionist Movement met but he faced obstacles with courage and dignity.

"The old houses in Eragny", 1884

Through years of poverty and despair the impressionists struggled to gain recognition while Pissarro and his friends remained faithful to their vision.
He experimented with theories of art; studied the effects of light, climate, and the seasons; adopted new techniques; from these he fused a style that remained his own, within the larger style of Impressionism.

And Pissarro was especially regarded as a teacher if not a leader.

He became the centre of a group of painters -- Renoir, Monet, Degas, Cézanne -- who respected his art and turned to him for inspiration. Pissarro did much in fact to bring about the achievements of the Impressionists.

It was only during his 74^th year that Camille Pissarro finally attained the respectability that had eluded him most of his life. His paintings were starting to fetch high prices at auction and a new generation of artists admired his work.

His numerous Parisian views and his landscapes all bear testimony of the achievements of a great artist though present prices recorded for his works remain well behind those fetched for works by Renoir, Cézanne, Degas or Monet. This seems difficult to understand as his paintings are of equal quality compared to the works of these artists. The only explanation that can be found is that Pissarro was a modest man who always showed his eagerness to learn from others despite the fact that many artists found their inspiration in his art. All the more, he was regarded in France as a kind of alien as many art critics often described him as a Jew in a pejorative way.

The fact that he showed support for Captain Dreyfus when the latter was unjustly tried as an alleged spy by a military court had all the more negative effects over his career.

A long time after his death a large fringe of the population had remained hostile to Jews with the effect that when the Germans invaded France they ultimately adhered to the Vichy government antisemetic policies. As a result, Pissarro remained a kind of outcast until after World War Two while many publications had concentrated their interest on other painters from the Impressionist schools who had had the chance not to have Jewish blood running in their veins.

Despite all these difficult years, Pissarro never lost his capacity for enthusiasm and response, his love of nature, and the stunning spectacle of life around him, which he set down on his canvas with unforgettable lightness and talent.