The Banks of the Seine in Paris, Pont Marie, Quai d'Anjou 1875

Camille Pissarro made this oil on canvas painting, The Banks of the Seine in Paris, sometime near the turn of the 20th century. It shows a group of laborers unloading sand from a barge on the banks of the Seine, with the Pont Marie in the background. Paintings like this are important documents of social history. The city of Paris was undergoing massive construction at this time, and Pissarro’s painting brings our attention to the workers without whom this would have been impossible. The artist was known for his socialist sympathies, and this is reflected in his choice of subject matter. Rather than dwelling on the glamour of Parisian life, he reminds us of the lives of the working classes. Art historians can analyze paintings like this using census records and other historical sources, connecting the lives of people with the art of their time. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social context.