-Camille Pissarro 

The inspiration for our spring tulips came from the great French painter, Camille Pissarro. He was born on July 10^th, 1830.  He was a Danish-French impressionist painter.   Pissarro painted outdoors or “en plein air” and he preferred to finish his paintings often at one sitting outside. He painted what he saw, giving his work a more realistic feel.  Pissarro would paint individuals in a natural setting, without artifice or grandeur.

In 1873, he helped establish a group of 15 aspiring artists and was pivotal in keeping the group together by “virtue of his wisdom and his balanced, kind and warm-hearted personality.” Paul Cezanne referred to Pissarro as a Father to him. Pissarro was also one of Gauguin’s masters and Renoir referred to his work as “revolutionary.” Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, and Mary Cassett were also influenced by Camille Pissarro.

From 1874 to 1886, Pissarro was the only artist to have shown his work at all eight Paris Impressionist exhibitions. These exhibitions not only shocked the world, but it meant that private, smaller exhibits could became popular and the Salon would lose it monopoly on the art market.  From the 1600-1800s the only place for wealthy art lovers to buy art was at the Salon.  The Salon lasted for two months each year and was visited by art dealers, collectors and critics from all over the world.  Each year, as many as 4,000 works of art were chosen by a jury which was made up of professors from the most famous art school the École des Beaux-Arts who preferred works that were painted in a style that had been used for hundreds of years.  According to them, the best paintings were done on large canvases, using subdued colours and well-blended brush strokes.  Everything that the Impressionists were not.  While some of the art from the Impressionists were accepted at the Salon from time to time, it was only when they changed their art in some way to meet the standards of the jurors – painted in darker tones for example.  Because of the Salon’s importance, every artist hoped to get their art accepted and be included in the exhibit.  Artists would gather their best pieces and brought them to be judged.   If they were lucky their pieces would be chosen and if very lucky hung “on the line” which meant hung at eye level.  Art considered inferior was “skyed” or hung above eye level where it was less likely to be seen.  But Skyed artwork was better than the alternative – to be rejected.  Rejected paintings were returned with a large R stamped on the back of the canvas.  If an artist wanted to sell that particular painting that had been rejected by the salon, they would have to cover over the stamped R, as no one would want a painting that had been refused by the Salon.   The Impressionists became very good at putting new backings on their paintings!

Eventually, Camille Pissarro and the Impressionists gave up trying to enter into the Salon and decided to hold their own exhibition.  Initially these Rebel artists included Claude Monet, Édouard Manet, Pierre Renoir, Edgar Degas, Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt and later, Paul Cezanne, Paul Gauguin and Georges Seurat.  For many years Impressionist art was scorned by critics but in the end, impressionism would be considered some of the most beautiful, well-loved paintings in the world. By the time most of the artists reached their 50s they had become wealthy from sales of their art work, and today millions of visitors flock to museums to see their art.  Camille Pissarro is often described as the Father of the Impressionist movement.  He was the most open and understanding of his group and the younger painters turned to him for advice and art lessons.  Pissarro married Julie Vellay, and had seven children. All of his children learned to paint.  He died November, 13^th 1903 at 73 years of age.

Our inspiration today of spring comes from Camille Pissarro many still life’s such as bouquet of flowers painted in 1873.  Students brought some vibrant colour and a real feeling of Spring to our classes.  Outside we are battling the slow winter thaw, and amongst the ice and snow these tulips are a welcome reprieve and a promise of things to come…

 I can almost smell spring coming!