Cowherd, Pontoise 1880

Camille Pissarro painted 'Cowherd, Pontoise' with oils on canvas, probably in the 1870s. Pissarro often represented rural life as it was being transformed by the industrial revolution. This painting shows a woman sitting in a field next to a cow. The woman is wearing a simple dress and a headscarf, and she is knitting. The cow is grazing peacefully. Pontoise was a rural area outside of Paris, and it was a popular subject for Impressionist painters. During this time, France was experiencing rapid industrialization, and many people were moving from the countryside to the cities. Yet Pissarro here is not painting urban life, but rather, the life of a rural peasant woman. Historians can use census records, photographs, and other documents to learn more about the lives of people like the woman in this painting. By understanding the social and economic context in which art was made, we can better understand its meaning and significance.