In 1874 the Pissarro family moved to Pontoise, a suburb of Paris. At that time Pontoise had a population of a little more than 8,000 people, but that wouldn't be a particularly accurate figure, as rural farm workers were often not counted.
Pontoise was a community of rich and poor, owners and renters, factory workers and farmers, new money, little money and some old aristocratic money. Indeed, this little bridge was found on the property of the Chateaux de Marcouville. But Pissarro didn't believe in private property, and so he eliminated the big house with its aristocratic associations and made the forest a bit more primeval. An interesting note: while protesting the great divide between rich and poor, only people of substance would have been able to afford his paintings to hang in their grand houses. But to be human is to be a creature of contradictions and tensions.
Another interesting point: Many painters in Pissarro's day traveled extensively, always in search of the perfect vista or subject. But Pissarro tended to stay closer to home. Perhaps that's because he was sent away to school in Europe when he was only twelve years old and understood homesickness.
Pissarro painted over 300 images while living in Pontoise, many of them different angles of the same subject. So for example, he would paint a street looking in one direction, followed by a painting of the same street facing in even a slightly different direction.
Pissarro painted over 300 images while living in Pontoise, many of them different angles of the same subject. So for example, he would paint a street looking in one direction, followed by a painting of the same street facing in even a slightly different direction.
This little bridge, Le Petit Ponts, wasn't painted with brushes but with a knife. Pissarro was always trying something new, so much so that art historians say it may not be a good idea to call him simply, an Impressionist.
Maybe there's something to be said for creating a Lent that is close to home and circling around:
- Who is near whose hand could do with some holding?
- Who are the people I've been sitting near at Mass for so long and whose names I still don't know?
- What dream have I had that's never been seriously pursued? I know a woman who has always wanted to draw. She attests that she can't draw, but in her retirement she dedicates an hour every day to drawing. No judging, just drawing.
- What book has been sitting on the shelf forever, and still hasn't been picked up?
- Is there some little spiritual practice I have longed to take up, yet from which I have always excused myself? Perhaps ten minutes of silent sitting each Lenten day.
