Customer Reviews

Camille Pissarro: Letters to His Son, Lucien

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The selection of letters made by the legendary John Rewald were those exchanged between Pissarro senior and his son. They are on par with those of Van Gogh and his brother Theo.
Through the daily lens of informal dialogue we get a glimpse into the late nineteenth century art world at a critical time in it's history.
With his unexpected death in 1903 we are left with several extraordinary last missives which tell a tale of a patient and devoted artist and father.
However balanced against these consoling aspects of his personality there is that of an anarchist ready to see the overthrow of Europe.
It is just that tension between comforter and crisis-maker that the power of his art portents. Once these letters have been read one
suddenly understands why Cezanne and Gauguin and others respected this man who Cezanne called a giant of art and the most humble of men. William Havlicek PhD

I doubt if Camille Pissarro (CP) would have wanted his personal letters published, but today it seems to be in vogue to expose oneself to the world. Of course, just all the parties mentioned in his letters are deceased so perhaps our gain from reading the letters is justifiable since they expose many of his concerns, jealousies and political ideas. What is prevasive is CP constant need for money to support his large family at a time when his art was still not in demand until the last few years of his life. While living in England Lucien Pissarro, his eldest son, follows in his father's footsteps wanting to be a professional artist but must depend on his father for both financial and artistic support.

Pissarro's criticism of Gauguin and Signac seems too harsh today but back then painting was supreme in the visual arts and everyone was a critic. CP was jewish and an anarchist who wrote Lucien describing the antisemitic scene (Dreyfus affair and Zola's trial) and the conservative community and government reaction to the arts and social issues of his time.

What I enjoyed reading were his comments on some of his paintings and his interaction with galleries and collectors. Unfortunately many of the paintings referred to are not illustrated or if so they are not in color. Highly recommended for the serious art historian especially those interested in French art at the end of the 19th Century.

Despite the editorial review ("Pissarro's weekly letters to his son Lucien, covering the dramatic period of Impressionism from 1883 to the painter's death in 1905")-- Pissarro died in 1903, and by 1883 the era of Impressionism was about over; Pissarro, Renior, and even Monet had abandoned the technique by this time-- this is a marvelous insight into the mind of one of the most influential painters of all time.