The river and willows, Eragny 1888

Camille Pissarro painted ‘The River and Willows, Eragny’ using oil on canvas, at some point in the late 19th century. Here, we see a quiet pastoral scene of cattle drinking from a river, overseen by a peasant woman. Pissarro was a committed socialist and anarchist, and this painting can be seen as reflecting his political beliefs. The focus on rural life and the working class is a common theme in his work, and it chimes with a wider interest in the dignity of labor that emerged in French art and literature at the time. The location depicted here, Eragny, was a rural commune outside of Paris, which was home to a community of artists and intellectuals with radical political views. To understand Pissarro’s art fully, you might consult contemporary political pamphlets and manifestos, as well as histories of rural life in France. By placing art in its social and political context, we can gain a richer understanding of its meaning.