Pontoise, Les Pâtis 19 - 1868

Curator: Before us we have Camille Pissarro’s “Pontoise, Les Pâtis,” created around 1868. The artwork, housed here at the Städel Museum, is rendered in pencil on paper. Editor: It has a remarkable delicacy. The faint, almost ghostly lines create a wonderfully subdued, almost dreamlike, atmosphere. Curator: Indeed. Pissarro masterfully uses the pencil to evoke light and shadow, carefully hatching to suggest form. Observe how the architectural structure of the buildings are rendered with an attentiveness. Editor: And the landscape itself, see how Pissarro integrates manmade structure within the composition of trees. He creates a unified whole, don’t you agree? What can you tell me about this suburb outside of Paris? Curator: Pontoise became a central hub for Pissarro. Leaving behind the bustling atmosphere of Paris to concentrate on a natural style. What’s interesting here is his capacity for showing the everyday, unglamorous suburbs on the cusp of France's modern future. Editor: The visible strokes speak of artistic process. You can almost trace Pissarro's steps, from the initial outline to the detailed shading that lends such a textural quality. This also comes across with the landscape's natural appearance. He’s depicting it authentically! Curator: Pissarro often chose subjects of the bourgeoisie. “Pontoise, Les Pâtis,” presents an ideal window into the landscape and the lives of his time. These humble dwellings show an era when rurality had more direct intersection. Editor: It feels very different to how society is constructed today. One has to wonder, what would Pissarro do with the modern day and all it involves? I really see his hand guiding me on a tour. Curator: What truly strikes me is Pissarro's mastery in depicting subtleties in the forms and textures by a medium like pencil. A rather elegant piece, showing how the old meets new within a city outside Paris. Editor: A meditative work. It encourages us to see the beauty and meaning inherent within daily existence in nature.