Camille Pissarro (1830-1903)


Place du Carrousel, Paris, 1900
Oil on canvas, .549 x .654 m
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection
1970.17.55

From the dappled edge of the Tuileries Gardens, we see the Louvre across the light-filled Place du Carrousel, the site of renovations undertaken for the museum's bicentennial in 1993. The pavilion at left, until recently part of the finance ministry, has now been reclaimed for gallery space. Better known for rural landscapes, Pissarro came to paint urban scenes late in his career. As his vision failed and he was forced to work indoors, he rented rooms that gave him views of Rouen, Paris, and other cities. Influenced by Monet's series paintings, Pissarro set up a number of easels to work simultaneously on different canvases, as light and weather conditions changed. This is one of several such views of the Place du Carrousel painted from his rooms above the Rue de Rivoli. By giving us a sidelong view and by interrupting it on all sides, Pissarro captures some of the busy city's restless activity. His quick brushwork seems to mimic the action. Scoured circles of paint trace the motion of carriage wheels. With the movement of the brush in his hand, Pissarro does not simply paint; he reenacts their rolling progress.



Images and texts are for educational, non-commercial use only.

Text by Carla Brenner, Department of Education Publications

© Board of Trustees, National Gallery of Art


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revised 12/29/94