Impressionism, a historical reconstruction:

Camille Pissarro

(1830-1903)

Reviews

on the impressionist expositions

Introduction:
On this page you will find summaries of the reviews on Camille Pissarro. Namely on the ‘impressionist’ expositions he joined in 1874, 1876, 1877, 1879, 1880, 1881, 1882 and 1886. See the account for a more detailed representation of these reviews.
Note: You will namely find the reviews of 1874 +1876. The other reviews will be added later.

Camille Pissarro, 1IE-1874-137, Gelée blanche = 1873, CCP285, hoarfrost at Ennery, 65x93, Orsay (iR2;iR59;R2,p138;R116,no285;R126,no203;R87,p249;M1,RF1972-27) Fauré collection — Camille Pissarro, 1IE-1874-137, Gelée blanche = 1873, CCP285, hoarfrost at Ennery, 65×93, Orsay (iR2;iR59;R2,p138;R116,no285;R126,no203;R87,p249;M1,RF1972-27) Fauré collection

Camille Pissarro, 1IE-1874-140, Une Matinée du mois de juin = 1873, CCP312, Morning in June, Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône, 55x91, SKh Karlsruhe (iR10;iR2;iR59;R116,no312;R126,no224;R87,p250;R90II,p27;R2,p122;M57,no2539) =Pau-1877-358 — Camille Pissarro: 1IE-1874-140, Une Matinée du mois de juin = 1873, CCP312, Morning in June, Saint-Ouen-l’Aumône, 55×91, SKh Karlsruhe (iR10;iR2;iR59;R116,no312;R126,no224;R87,p250;R90II,p27;R2,p122;M57,no2539) =Pau-1877-358

1874:
Here you will find a summary of the reviews on the 1st ‘impressionist’ exposition related to Camille Pissarro.
See the link for the art-works he showed in 1874.
He was very often mentioned in the reviews and also often as one of the leading partakers. Castagnary remarked ‘His sythematical eye takes in the whole in a single stroke.’ (R90I,p16). Silvestre calls him ’the inventor of this painting (style)’ (R90I,p39). Most of his works are just shortly remarked or described.

Camille Pissarro, 2IE-1876-203, Le berger. = 1875, CCP426, The shepherd at Montfoucault, sunset, 58x72, A1993/11/29 (iR10;iR15;R116,CCP426;R90II,p43;R2,p164) — Camille Pissarro, 2IE-1876-203, Le berger. = 1875, CCP426, The shepherd at Montfoucault, sunset, 58×72, A1993/11/29 (iR10;iR15;R116,CCP426;R90II,p43;R2,p164)

Camille Pissarro: 2IE-1876-199, Gelée blanche avec brouillard; appartient à M. Choquet (sic) = CCP331, 1874, Brouillard (Fog), 54x65, private (iR10;iR94;R116,CCP331;R90II,p43+61;R2,p164) Chocquet collection — Camille Pissarro: 2IE-1876-199, Gelée blanche avec brouillard; appartient à M. Choquet (sic) = CCP331, 1874, Brouillard (Fog), 54×65, private (iR10;iR94;R116,CCP331;R90II,p43+61;R2,p164) Chocquet collection

Camille Pissarro, 2IE-1876-200, Neige, coteaux de l'Hermitage = 1874, CCP327, Effect of snow at the L'Hermitage, Pontoise, 55x66, private (iR2;iR59;R2,p164+156;R116,CCP327;R90II,p43+62) — Camille Pissarro, 2IE-1876-200, Neige, coteaux de l’Hermitage = 1874, CCP327, Effect of snow at the L’Hermitage, Pontoise, 55×66, private (iR2;iR59;R2,p164+156;R116,CCP327;R90II,p43+62)

1876:
Here you will find a summary of the reviews on the 2nd ‘impressionist’ exposition related to Camille Pissarro.
See the link for the art-works he showed in 1876.
Camille Pissarro was mentioned in 28 reviews. In 16 of them his name is written wrongly. He often is integrated in small lists of the most important partakers (Rv2+3+15+22+52+56) But still, his exhibited paintings are mentioned in just 4 reviews (Rv21+28+35+51) and only Porcheron reviews them a bit more extendedly (Rv28). Some make clear that his paintings hung in room 3 (Rv16+35+43), but Porcheron seems to place him in room 1 (Rv28). Burty (Rv43) calls him the great high priest of the school of the Intransigeants. Zola (Rv50) calls him ‘even more revolutionairy than Monet.’ Ernest Fillonneau (Rv47) reviewed ‘Pissarro his landscapes are uniformly blue, yellow and violet. In which country does nature look like this?’ Emile Porcheron (Rv28) reviewed ‘His sheep are orange and blue, the trees are blue, the field is blue, everything is blue.’ Some others also criticised his use of colour, namely his dominant blues (Rv21+24+31+33+36). But Zola (Rv54) remarks ‘(his) colourful landscapes may confuse the uninitiated’. Porcheron (Rv28) also criticises his sketchy way of painting: ‘In another painting he renders 3 strokes depicting a tree and two men.’ Some others make similar remarks (Rv20). Some make clear that several of his paintings depicted Pontoise (Rv34).

1877:
Here you will find a summary of the reviews on the 3rd ‘impressionist’ exposition related to Camille Pissarro.
See the link for the art-works he showed in 1877.

1879:
Here you will find a summary of the reviews on the 4th ‘impressionist’ exposition related to Camille Pissarro.
See the link for the art-works he showed in 1879.

1880:
Here you will find a summary of the reviews on the 5th ‘impressionist’ exposition related to Camille Pissarro.
See the link for the art-works he showed in 1880.

1881:
Here you will find a summary of the reviews on the 6th ‘impressionist’ exposition related to Camille Pissarro.
See the link for the art-works he showed in 1881.
Some art-critics linked him to Jean-François Millet. Gustave Geffroy (1881/04/19) reviewed ‘It is true that there are some beautiful pictures of M. Pisssarro in this year’s exhibition; his peasants, working under the burning lights of a summer sky, have a simple and great style; in his brilliant, deep landscapes, an implacable light vibrates. But all tones taken to the extreme have a certain monotony. Furthermore, an identical process does not render different effects.’ (R90I,p342).

1882:
Here you will find a summary of the reviews on the 7th ‘impressionist’ exposition related to Camille Pissarro.
See the link for the art-works he showed in 1882.
Emile Hennequin (1882/03/11) reviewed ‘His trees, his meadows, his palisades, his land, are painted with that same severe reflection, which discolours even the cheeks of his women. On the other hand, the attitudes of his peasants and peasant women, the way they bend, sit, carry, are captured and rendered with a striking accuracy, a striking truth.'(R90I,p393). J.-K. Huysmans (1883) reviewed ‘he paints his countrymen, without false grandeur, simply, as he sees them.’ (R90I,p397).

1886:
Here you will find a summary of the reviews on the 8th ‘impressionist’ exposition related to Camille Pissarro.
See the link for the art-works he showed in 1886.
Marcel Fouquier (1886/05/16) reviewed ‘M. Pissarro proceeds by small, precise, separate touches, by juxtapositions that are both fine and penetrating in their frank tones. Up close, his paintings look like a collection of variously coloured nail heads. But with the proper distance, perspective is established, the planes deepen, and as the sky is treated with a deliberate lightness, the impression is created of a vast space and an indefinite horizon.’ (R90I,p448).

Sources:
See the pages on the reviews per year (note only 1874 +1876 is available).
Most of these reviews are gathered by Ruth Berson (1996=R90I).
See at the bottom of the main page on Camille Pissarro.

Recommanded citation: “Impressionism: Camille Pissarro, an overview of the given reviews. Last modified 2026/03/31. https://www.impressionism.nl/pissarro-reviews/”

Note: more info will be added.