Orchard in Bloom, Louveciennes

1872

Camille Pissarro

Artist, French, born St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, 1830 - 1903

A tree with emerald-green leaves and laden with white blossoms grows in a dirt field, and is silhouetted against a vibrant blue sky in this horizontal landscape painting. The scene is loosely painted with visible dabs and strokes. The tree takes up most of the left half of the painting, and is closest to us. It casts a dappled shadow onto the ground to our right. A barren tree with gnarled branches grows nearby, in the tree’s shadow. A row of more trees extends in the distance to our right. A narrow dirt path, bordered by low green growth, stretches from the bottom edge of the canvas, to our right of center, into the field. To our left and farther from us, a woman leans over and reaches for the ground. She faces our left in profile and wears a white bonnet, a brown shawl, and a blue skirt. Near the line of trees to our right, a man walks toward the woman. He wears blue pants, a white shirt, a dark cap, and he carries a tan bag over his left shoulder. There are more trees along the horizon, which comes about a third of the way up the composition. The sky above is light gray near the horizon and deepens to vivid blue with fluffy white clouds. The painting is signed and dated in the lower right: “C. Pissarro 1872.”

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Camille Pissarro, one of the creators of the impressionist style, was the only impressionist to participate in each of the eight group exhibitions. He sent five paintings to the first show in 1874. Its modest scale and simple subject notwithstanding, Orchard in Bloom, Louveciennes headed the list of Pissarro's works in the catalogue, perhaps for personal associations. Fleeing with his family to London during the Franco-Prussian War, the artist waited until late 1871, after the suppression of the Commune, to return to his home in Louveciennes. His house had been occupied and many of the paintings he had left behind had been destroyed. As France began to rebuild, the artist also gradually recovered from the disaster. In Orchard in Bloom, Louveciennes, painted the next spring, abundant white blossoms and freshly plowed soil are tokens of hope and renewal.

Early in his career Pissarro designated himself a pupil of Corot, and in this 1872 painting Pissarro's broad method of composing and choice of a tranquil rural setting inhabited by a few small peasant figures still recall the older artist. Pissarro was able to sell the painting in July 1872, soon after its completion. It was bought by a new and important patron, Paul Durand-Ruel, one of the earliest impressionist purchases by the dealer remembered for his courageous and sustained support of the avant-garde artists.

On View

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 87

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 45.1 x 54.9 cm (17 3/4 x 21 5/8 in.)
    framed: 70.8 x 80.6 x 5.7 cm (27 7/8 x 31 3/4 x 2 1/4 in.)

  • Accession

    1970.17.51

More About this Artwork

Article:  1874: The Birth of Impressionism

Discover how a landmark exhibition led to the birth of an influential movement.

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Acquired from the artist in 1872 by (Durand-Ruel, Paris); sold between 1882 and 1888.[1] Alfred Bernheim, Paris, by 1936.[2] purchased 1946 by (Alex Reid & Lefèvre, London); sold 14 March 1950 to Lady Baillie. (Arthur Tooth and Sons, London); sold June 1959 to (Sam Salz Inc., New York);[3] sold 26 April 1960 to Ailsa Mellon Bruce [1901-1969], New York;[4] bequest 1970 to NGA.
[1] See letter dated 20 December 1977 from Charles Durand-Ruel, in NGA curatorial files.
[2] The painting was lent by Bernheim to a1936 Paris exhibition.
[3] Provenance between Alex Reid & Lefèvre and Arthur Tooth and Sons per Joachim Pissarro and Claire Durand-Ruel Snollaerts, Pissarro: Critical Catalogue of Paintings, vol. II, no. 248. Dated receipt from Salz to Mrs. Bruce in NGA curatorial files.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1874

  • Première Exposition, Société Anonyme des Artistes Peintres, Sculptuers, Graveurs, etc. [First Impressionist Exhibition], Paris, 1874, no. 14, as Le verger.

1936

  • Les premières époques de Camille Pissarro, de 1858 à 1884, Galerie Marcel Bernheim, 1936, no. 13, as Berger [sic] à Louveciennes.

1961

  • French Paintings of the Nineteenth Century from the Collection of Mrs. Mellon Bruce, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, 1961, no. 37, repro

1966

  • French Paintings from the Collections of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon and Mrs. Mellon Bruce, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1966, no. 27, repro

1986

  • Capolavori Impressionisti dei Musei Americani, Museo e Gallerie Nazionali di Capodimonte, Naples; Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan, 1986-1987, no. 35, repro.

  • The New Painting: Impressionism 1874-1886, National Gallery of Art, Washington, and The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 1986, no. 14, repro.

1990

  • Französische Impressionisten und ihre Wegbereiter aus der National Gallery of Art, Washington und dem Cincinnati Art Museum, Neue Pinakothek, Munich, 1990, no. 40, repro.

1994

  • Paris in 1874: The Year of Impressionism, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 1994, no. 38, repro., as Le Verger.

1998

  • Camille Pissarro, Civiche Gallerie d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Ferrara, Palazzo dei Diamanti, Ferrara, 1998, no. 13, repro.

2007

  • Pissarro: Creating the Impressionist Landscape, The Baltimore Museum of Art; Milwaukee Art Museum; Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, 2007-2008, no. 27, repro.

2011

  • Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; The National Art Center, Tokyo; Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, 2011, no. 38, repro.

2013

  • Intimate Impressionism from the National Gallery of Art, Museo dell'Ara Pacis Augustae, Rome (exhibition title in this venue: Impressionist Gems); California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco; McNay Art Museum, San Antonio; Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum, Tokyo, Seattle Art Museum, 2013-2016, pl. 4.

2016

  • Daubigny, Monet, Van Gogh. Impressions of Landscape, Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati; Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh; Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, 2016-2017, no. 11, repro. (shown only in Cincinnati).

Bibliography

1939

  • Pissarro, Ludovic and Lionello Venturi. Camille Pissarro, son art, son oeuvre. 2 vols. Paris, 1939:1:100, no. 153, as Verger en Fleurs, Louveciennes; 2:pl. 31.

1966

  • Goldwater, Robert. "The Glory that was France." Art News 65 (March 1966): 86.

1973

  • Rewald, John. "The Impressionist Brush." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin XXXII. no. 3 (1973/1974):24, repro.

  • Rewald, John. The History of Impressionism. New York, 1973:297, repro.

1974

  • Cogniet, Raymond. Pissarro. Paris, 1974:repro. 38

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 270, repro.

1978

  • Small French Paintings from the Bequest of Ailsa Mellon Bruce. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1978: 18, repro. (continuing exhibition beginning in 1978).

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 508, no. 758, color repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 314, repro.

1990

  • Französische Impressionisten und ihre Wegbereiter aus der National Gallery of Art, Washington und dem Cincinnati Art Museum. Exh. cat. Neue Pinakothek, Munich, 1990: no. 40, repro.

1991

  • Coman, Florence E. Joie de Vivre: French Paintings from the National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1991: no. 7, repro.

1992

  • National Gallery of Art, Washington. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 189, repro.

1997

  • Kelder, Diane. The Great Book of French Impressionism, 1997, no. 128, repro.

  • Southgate, M. Therese. The Art of JAMA: One Hundred Covers and Essays from The Journal of the American Medical Association. St. Louis, 1997: 88-89, 204, color repro.

2005

  • Pissarro, Joachim and Claire Durand-Ruel Snollaerts, Pissarro: Critical Catalogue of the Paintings, 3 vols., Milan, Paris and New York, 2005: II:248, repro.

Inscriptions

lower right: C. Pissarro 1872

Wikidata ID

Q20188754

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