Pont Neuf, the Statue of Henri IV, Sunny Weather, Morning 1900

Camille Pissarro painted this image of the Pont Neuf and statue of Henri IV in Paris, likely in 1900, using oil on canvas. The subject is the statue of the ‘good king’ Henri IV, an important symbol of French national identity and royal power. Painted at the height of the Third Republic, after the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune, this image offers a commentary on the political landscape of France at the time. Pissarro’s choice of subject is in itself telling; we might wonder, why Henri IV, who ruled centuries before? The statue can be read as representing a desire for stability after decades of political upheaval. The fuzzy impressionistic style softens the edges of the statue and presents it as part of the urban landscape. To better understand the image, we might look to newspapers of the time to see how the public was thinking about the monarchy, nationhood, and the role of public art. Ultimately, this painting is a product of its social and institutional context, and its meaning is contingent on the world in which it was made.