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Rue de l'Epicerie, Rouen (Effect of Sunlight)

1898
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 820
By the time of Pissarro’s fourth visit to Rouen in 1898, he was "already familiar with the motifs there." The artist depicted many of the same cityscapes that he had tackled previously, but also scouted out new scenes, such as this one. On August 19, he wrote to his son Lucien: "Yesterday I found an excellent place from which I can paint the rue de l'Epicerie and even the market, a really interesting one, which takes place every Friday." Pissarro painted the view three times, but The Met's picture is the only one that shows the market in progress.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Rue de l'Epicerie, Rouen (Effect of Sunlight)
  • Artist: Camille Pissarro (French, Charlotte Amalie, Saint Thomas 1830–1903 Paris)
  • Date: 1898
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 32 x 25 5/8 in. (81.3 x 65.1 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Richard J. Bernhard Gift, 1960
  • Object Number: 60.5
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

Audio

Cover Image for 6286. Rue de l'Épicerie, Rouen (Effect of Sunlight)

6286. Rue de l'Épicerie, Rouen (Effect of Sunlight)

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NARRATOR—In 1898, Pissarro visited the provincial town of Rouen. In this picture, he depicts the bustling market that was held there, every Friday on the Place de Haute-Vieille-Tour. In the background, the towers of Rouen's famous cathedral rise prominently above the horizon. You may recognize the cathedral as the same one depicted by Claude Monet. Pissarro took a more anecdotal approach to the subject than his Impressionist colleague. He focused on the
constant ebb and flow of human activity that goes on around the cathedral. Monet, by contrast, concentrated exclusively on the massive façade, which he reduced to an ethereal vision of color and light. You can see Monet's view of the Rouen Cathedral in an adjacent gallery.

More Artwork

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The Maid at the Market
Camille Pissarro (French, Charlotte Amalie, Saint Thomas 1830–1903 Paris)
1888
The Cottage
Camille Pissarro (French, Charlotte Amalie, Saint Thomas 1830–1903 Paris)
1879
Goose Girl
Camille Pissarro (French, Charlotte Amalie, Saint Thomas 1830–1903 Paris)
1888
Chemin sous bois à Pontoise
Camille Pissarro (French, Charlotte Amalie, Saint Thomas 1830–1903 Paris)
1879
Cows in the Fields of Éragny, near Gisors
Camille Pissarro (French, Charlotte Amalie, Saint Thomas 1830–1903 Paris)
1888

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