Impressionism, a historical reconstruction:

True colours?

a just representation of paintings

In making this website I come across various representations of one and the same painting. The colours in these paintings can divers a great deal. But, which colours, are the true colours?
These are technical questions that reach far beyond my knowledge. What I understand is that (certain) colours fade throughout the years*. That after cleaning a painting looks less yellowish. That in commercial representations the colours often look too bright, even a bit screamy**.
On this page I will render some remarkable variations.
Note*: that is why I brighten up (some of) the colours of some of the pictures I use. My collegue Otón Pabst thinks I do this to much, see www.magrasku.de (iR59).
Note**: that is why I subdue the colours of the some of the pictures I use. For example in the print I have of the excellent book of Walther on Impressionism (R3), the colours are also quite screamy.

Camille Pissarro: 6IE-1881-68, Chaumières au Val Hermé =!? CCP632, 1880, SDbr, Rue des roches au Valhermeil à Auvers-sur-Oise, chaumières et vache, 60x73, A2007/11/07 (iR14;iR11;R116,no632;R2,p355) Provenance: Durand-Ruel 1881/01/14. Expos: =DR1883-24; =Rheims-1896-594; =Saint-Petersbourg-1899-276; =DR1904-60; DR1908-12. — Camille Pissarro: 6IE-1881-68, Chaumières au Val Hermé =!? CCP632, 1880, SDbr, Rue des roches au Valhermeil à Auvers-sur-Oise, chaumières et vache, 60×73, A2007/11/07 (iR14;iR11;R116,no632;R2,p355) Provenance: Durand-Ruel 1881/01/14. Expos: =DR1883-24; =Rheims-1896-594; =Saint-Petersbourg-1899-276; =DR1904-60; DR1908-12.

Camille Pissarro: 1880, CCP632, Rue des Roches at Le Valhermeil, (Thatched Cottages and a Cow), 60x73, private (iR2;R116,CCP632) — Camille Pissarro: 1880, CCP632, Rue des Roches at Le Valhermeil, (Thatched Cottages and a Cow), 60×73, private (iR2;R116,CCP632)

Berthe Morisot: 1879, BW80, Woman Picking Flowers (In the Bois de Boulogne), 61x75, Nm Stockholm (iR8;iR2;iR59;R100,no80;R90II,p152;R2,p312;M91) Expos: =5IE-1880-119, Jardin. Compare: 3IE-1877-131+hc, pastel (R90I,p157). — Berthe Morisot: 1879, BW80, Woman Picking Flowers (In the Bois de Boulogne), 61×75, Nm Stockholm (iR8;iR2;iR59;R100,no80;R90II,p152;R2,p312;M91) Expos: =5IE-1880-119, Jardin. Compare: 3IE-1877-131+hc, pastel (R90I,p157).

Berthe Morisot: 1879, BW80, Woman Picking Flowers (In the Bois de Boulogne), 61x75, Nm Stockholm (iR2;iR8;iR59;R100,no80;M91) — Berthe Morisot: 1879, BW80, Woman Picking Flowers (In the Bois de Boulogne), 61×75, Nm Stockholm (iR2;iR8;iR59;R100,no80;M91)

Recommanded citation: “Enjoy Impressionism: True colours; a just representation of paintings. Last modified 2025/09/07. https://www.impressionism.nl/true-colours/”

Note: additional examples will be added later on.