Peasants’ houses, Eragny 1887

Camille Pissarro painted 'Peasants’ Houses, Eragny' using oil on canvas with short brushstrokes. The surface is filled with a myriad of tiny dots. These points of colour form fields of soft textures, creating a shimmering effect across the landscape. Pissarro uses pointillism, a technique that emphasizes how the human eye blends individual colours into a cohesive image. Pissarro was deeply interested in the science of perception. Pointillism is a method of destabilizing traditional representation. Instead of directly mixing colours on the canvas, he applied them separately, allowing the viewer's eye to do the work. This challenges the idea of a fixed, objective reality, suggesting that perception is an active, interpretive process. The technique allows for an exploration of how we construct meaning from visual stimuli. The formal elements of colour, texture, and composition merge to create an immersive visual experience, inviting us to reconsider how we see and understand the world around us.