Not-to-Miss Art Exhibit in Paris: Pissarro in Éragny

The Impressionist movement owes a great debt to Camille Pissarro, not just for his accomplished skill but in great measure for his kindness. He was a sort of father figure to the other artists both because he was the eldest among them and also because he was warm-hearted, balanced and fair, and also had a gift for bringing people together.

In parallel to the Pissarro retrospective currently being held at the Musée Marmottan Monet, the Réunion des Musées Nationaux – Grand Palais is holding an exhibition on a brand-new subject at the Musée du Luxembourg, concentrating on the least studied final two decades of the artist’s life.

Having settled in a house in Éragny-sur-Epte via a loan facilitated by his friend Claude Monet, between 1884 and 1903 Pissarro developed an interest in a form of utopia evidenced in both his paintings and his political focus. The exhibition includes not only stunning landscapes of this rural idyll – much more rustic and work-oriented than Monet’s Giverny garden meant for leisure and contemplation – but also paintings representing a multitude of personalities, painted in the studio and featuring the pastoral surroundings of Éragny.

Pissarro à Éragny. La Nature Retrouvée. Organised by the Réunion des Musées Nationaux – Grand Palais. At the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris. Until July 9. Website: www.museeduluxembourg.fr

From France Today magazine