Pissarro s People. Gallery Guide for Families

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Judith Ferguson
6 years ago
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1 Pissarro s People Gallery Guide for Families

2 Introduction to the Show Welcome to Pissarro s People. This exhibition is about the artist Camille Pissarro and the people and ideas that were important to him. Take a look at Pissarro s Self Portrait from He painted this picture when he was 43 years old. Portraits are often painted to capture the personality of the sitter as well as the appearance. Self portraits, in particular, can reveal how the artist thinks about him or herself. Look into Pissarro s eyes. What do you think he was like? (Circle all that might apply). Serious Funny Thoughtful Active Friendly Athletic Intelligent Careful Pissarro was born in 1830 in St. Thomas, an island in the Caribbean. In the 1850s, he moved to France, where he spent most of his adult life, built his career as an artist, and raised his family. He had strong ideas about politics and was a great believer in personal freedom and the equality of all people. BTW- Pissarro is often remembered as a landscape painter, but like several of his fellow Impressionists, he was also interested in painting people. He had some classical training and experimented with many different styles and techniques throughout his career.

3 Pissarro s Politics Find the painting called The Donkey Ride and look at it carefully. What is happening in this picture? What may have happened leading up to this scene? What do you imagine would happen next? There are four children in the painting. What are some of the differences between the two children on the donkeys and the two children standing on the ground? What are some similarities? Who do you think the woman might be? Pissarro believed that all people should be treated equally and that the world should operate based on this principle. How does this painting illustrate his political ideas? BTW- Pissarro considered himself an anarchist. Anarchists believe that government is unnecessary and that society should be based on voluntary cooperation of individuals living in small communities.

4 Family Portraits The show continues upstairs. Follow the signs and find the group of pictures labeled Family and Friends. Pissarro had eight children and he painted many pictures of them. Look at the pictures of his children and you will see that in almost all of the pictures, the children are either reading or writing or drawing. Why do think he painted them this way? (Check all that might apply) The Pissarro family did NOTHING else all day long. It is easier to paint a portrait if the sitter is doing something to keep him or her still. Education was important to Pissarro and he wanted to show the intelligence of his family. Some of these portraits are formal and some are informal. If you were to have your portrait painted, how would you like it to look? What clothes would you wear? What would you be doing? What kind of setting or background would you want? Would you include any props or possessions in the picture? If so, what would you include? In the 1800s, most people did not have cameras or family photographs. How would your life be different if you didn t have cameras or photographs available to you? BTW- The first permanent photograph was produced in Photography became available for the mass market in 1901 and developed rapidly throughout the twentieth century. The first digitally scanned photo was produced more than 50 years ago though digital photography has only become common in the last 15 years or so.

Below are reproductions of two of the studies which include seven sketches of people working.

5 Putting Together a Large-Scale Picture Continue through the exhibition and find the picture, The Harvest. It is surrounded by a number of figure studies that Pissarro made in preparation for the painting. Look at the sketches! Which figures appear in the finished picture? Below are reproductions of two of the studies which include seven sketches of people working. When you get home, look at these sketches and try to make your own drawings of people in different positions from different angles. If you have time, try and incorporate some of your sketches into your own version of a harvest scene. BTW- It took Pissarro more than a year to complete The Harvest and even longer - more than five years - to finish Apple-Picking, the largest picture in the show, which you will find hanging nearby. Left: Camille Pissarro (French, ), Five Studies of a Male Peasant Working, early 1880s. Black chalk on off-white paper, 9 x 6 13 /16 in. (22.9 x 17.3 cm). Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford. Pissarro Family Gift, 1951, WA [Courtesy of the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford] Right: Camille Pissarro (French, ), Study of Two Female Harvesters, Black chalk on pink paper prepared with a thin layer of Chinese white, 16 7 /8 x 25 1 /8 in. (42.8 x 63.8 cm). Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford. Pissarro Family Gift, 1952, WA [Courtesy of the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford]

6 After the Revolution In this part of the exhibition, you will find several pictures that represent Pissarro s vision of a perfect world. Of course, the idea of a perfect world could mean different things to different people. Find the picture called Apple Harvest. How does this painting illustrate Pissarro s ideas of what a perfect world would be like? Here are some things to think about while you look: * * * * What are the people doing? Are the people working together or in competition with one another? Are they comfortable? What else do you notice about this picture? This painting is painted differently than some of the other paintings in the exhibition. If you look carefully, you will see that Pissarro used thousands of colorful dots of paint to make one unified picture. Think about how the style and colors that Pissarro used complement the subject and contribute to the overall feeling of the painting. BTW- Utopia is a term that means an ideal world. The word was first used about 500 years ago in England when Sir Thomas More wrote a book about an imaginary perfect place called Utopia.

7 The Marketplace Go into Gallery D to see the last room of this exhibition. In this gallery, you will see a lot of pictures of people buying and selling food in village marketplaces. Look carefully at this group of pictures; although they are all images of rural markets, Pissarro used a variety of media and styles in these paintings and drawings. Which picture do you like best? What do you like about this picture? (Look at the label and write down the title of the picture) Shopping in markets like these was a bit like going to a farmers market today. What are some of the differences between going to a farmers market and shopping in a large grocery store or supermarket? Think about what is available for purchase, how it is packaged, who grows the food, who sells the food, and how and where the customer pays for the food. Farmers Market Grocery Store (supermarket) BTW- Until the twentieth century, shoppers bought most of their food from the people who produced it. The first supermarket opened in It was a Piggly Wiggly store in Memphis, Tennessee.

8 Your Own Ideas about Utopia We ve seen some pictures and thought about Pissarro s ideas of a perfect world. What would your perfect world look like? Make a note about some of the things you would include in your Utopia. Now draw some of the details of your vision in the small boxes. Think about how you might put the details together into a bigger picture. Sketch out the picture in the larger box below, thinking about which details you want to include and how you might arrange them in the picture. When you get home, use a fresh piece of paper to draw a large picture of your ideal world, using the sketch that you made here as a draft. Show your picture to somebody you know and tell them about your visit to the Clark! We are so glad that you visited Pissarro s People at the Clark today. Check out our website clarkart.edu for more fun activities and visit us again soon. Children are always admitted free at the Clark!

Dear Educator: PISSARRO S PEOPLE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Legion of Honor Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Dear Educator: PISSARRO S PEOPLE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Legion of Honor Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Dear Educator: Thank you for supporting your students visit to the exhibition Pissarro s People on view at the Legion of Honor. This exhibition presents the often-overlooked figurative paintings of Camille