CAMILLE PISSARRO (Charlotte-Amélie, 1830-Paris,... Lot n° 37

WOMAN HANGING OUT THE LINEN, ERAGNY About 1887 Oil on canvas Stamped C.P. lower left 73.3 x 59.7 cm Study for the painting Woman Hanging Laundry, Éragny, 1887 - Paris, Musée d'Orsay (Fig. 1) Provenance - By inheritance from Julie Pissarro, the artist's wife in 1904; - Paris, Galerie Georges Petit, Sale of the Camille Pissarro Collection, 3 December 1928, catalogue no. 43 (Fig. 4); - Lewis-Bernard Davis Collection, Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), purchased from Georges Petit Gallery; - Park-Bernet, New York, Lewis-Bernard Davis sale, 13 April 1944, n°46 of the illustrated catalogue; - Private collection, USA, bought at the Lewis-Bernard Davis sale (1944-2003); - Sotheby's, New York, 9 May 2001, catalogue no. 325, illustrated (not sold); - Sotheby's, New York, 7 May 2003, catalogue n°132, illustrated; - CID, Deauville, 15 August 2004, catalogue n°62, illustrated; - Swiss collection. Bibliography - Joachim Pissarro and Claire Durand-Ruel Snollaerts, Camille Pissarro, critical catalogue of paintings, Wildenstein Institute, Vol.III, n°853, illustrated and titled. It is astonishing how everything fits together, the first things, the Pontoise series, the systematic divisions and the recent things, when seen together form a whole and do not seem to have the gap that I thought they had [...] under whatever influence your things are made, they always preserve this search for close values which basically form the great characteristic of your Work... Letter from Lucien Pissarro to his father in 1903 The painting we are presenting Woman hanging laundry, Éragny (ca. 1887), a large-format painting, is a draft of the famous painting in the Musée d'Orsay (Fig. 1). It has a free and divided flochetage touch that lets the wind pass through and gives the composition a lightness, a spontaneity, a life that is hard to find in the famous painting in the Musée d'Orsay. We are in the presence of two admirable, very different works that allow us to understand the evolution of a technical concept and the perception of an artist. Our painting allows us to share in the painter's creative thought, resulting in a masterpiece of sincerity. THE PERIOD OF ÉRAGNY 1884-1903 "Yes, we have decided on Éragny-Sur-Epte; the house is superb and not expensive: 1000 francs with garden and meadow. It is two hours from Paris, I found the country much more beautiful than Compiègne". Camille Pissarro, 1884 He became the owner of the house in 1893 (after a long tenancy) and his wife Julie continued to live there until her death in 1926 (Fig. 2). In Éragny, Pissarro executed nearly 350 oil paintings, including the Divisionist ones (Fig. 3). During this period, the artist alternated between the countryside and the noisy, bustling urban world: Rouen, Dieppe, Le Havre, Paris and on several occasions London. 1887, the date of execution of our painting, corresponds to a dark period concerning the financial situation of the Pissarros. Durand-Ruel, his dealer, was no longer able to meet the artist's financial demands, but the latter had no other alternatives (Fig. 5). The art market had been in a general and deep crisis since 1884. Pissarro, who relied entirely on Durand-Ruel's advances to live, accumulated debts. The dealer tried to encourage him by pinning his hopes on the United States (1884-1886). However, in New York, he encountered strong opposition from the American trade, which feared the arrival of new competition. He was forbidden to exhibit, but finally a compromise was reached, and Durand-Ruel was allowed to exhibit his painters, including Pissarro, on the sole condition that no painting was offered for sale. Pissarro presented 11 paintings by Éragny (Fig. 6). Durand-Ruel's accumulated troubles forced the artist to turn to other outlets, including Theo Van Gogh, Vincent's brother, employed at the Boussod and Valadon gallery. From then on there was a struggle between Durand-Ruel and Théo Van Gogh. Pissarro nevertheless remained attached to Durand-Ruel and the years 1892-1899 marked the period of his first successes. CAMILLE PISSARRO'S PICTURAL DEVELOPMENT 1880-1890 PERIOD Around the 1880s, the artist fragmented his painting more and more. The aim was to multiply the chromatic effects as if each touch had its own autonomy. This technique became more radical around 1886 (more description on kohn.paris)