Wednesday 21 March 2012

The Louvre, March Mist - Pissaro (Spring Landscape #1)

The Louvre, March Mist by Camille Pissarro
oil painting on canvas, 54 x 65cm
Location: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, Denmark
I'm starting a series of posts about Spring landscapes.  I wanted first of all to start with landscapes in March.

Having spent last week sketching in the sunshine and haze down by the Thames at Kew (see The Thames at Kew - in March sunshine), I was very taken with this misty painting of the Louvre Palace and the River Seine in Paris by Camille Pissarro.  It captures that effect you get in the sky when it's sunny but the ground is basically still cold.  The haze has both an absence of colour and yet tints at the same time.  It's very difficult to capture - and I think Pissarro has done it remarkably well.

Places to paint:  It looks to me as if he located himself

  • either near the end of the Ile de la Cite, the island in the Seine which has a great view of the Louvre.  
  • or maybe he was stood on the Pont Neuf (the 'New Bridge' which is now the oldest bridge in Paris)?

I've always been interested in Camille Pissarro's work - but never known a lot about him.  Maybe I should take some time out to learn about him?

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