Camille Pissarro, 'The Boulevard Montmartre at Night', 1897
About the work
Overview
This is one of 14 views of the Boulevard Montmartre in Paris that Camille Pissarro painted in 1897. These include the boulevard seen in snow, rain, fog, mist and sunlight, and in the morning, afternoon, at sunset and at night. The picture is the only example of a night painting by Pissarro.
Pissarro was especially fascinated by the different types of artificial light, which are reflected on the wet pavements. The cool white of the newly installed electric street lamps along the centre of picture contrasts with the warm yellow gaslight of the shop windows and the oil-burning lamps of the cabs that line the street. The brushstrokes have an almost abstract gestural quality, as Pissarro applied the paint as a patchwork of dashes and daubs to suggest the passing crowds and traffic, and the city’s shimmering lights.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Boulevard Montmartre at Night
- Artist
- Camille Pissarro
- Artist dates
- 1830 - 1903
- Date made
- 1897
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 53.3 × 64.8 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Bought, Courtauld Fund, 1925
- Inventory number
- NG4119
- Location
- Room 44
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Frame
- 20th-century English Frame
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Martin Davies, with additions and some revisions by Cecil Gould, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: French School: Early 19th Century, Impressionists, Post-Impressionists, etc.’, London 1970; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Exhibition history
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2010Bilder einer Metropole: Die Impressionisten in ParisMuseum Folkwang Essen2 October 2010 - 30 January 2011
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2014Camille Pissarro - Vater des ImpressionismusVon der Heydt Museum Wuppertal12 October 2014 - 22 February 2015
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2015Impressionism - Expressionism. Art at a Turning PointAlte Nationalgalerie (Berlin)22 May 2015 - 20 September 2015
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2018Courtauld Impressionists: From Manet to CézanneThe National Gallery (London)17 September 2018 - 20 January 2019
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2021Camille Pissarro. The Studio of ModernismKunstmuseum Basel4 September 2021 - 31 January 2022
Bibliography
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1926J.B. Manson, 'The Courtauld Collection', Apollo, 1926, pp. 92-6
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1926R.R. Tatlock, 'The Courtauld Trust', The Burlington Magazine, XLVIII, 1926, pp. 56-65
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1939L.-R. Pissarro and L. Venturi, Camille Pissarro: Son art et son oeuvre, Paris 1939
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1954D. Cooper, The Courtauld Collection: A Catalogue and Introduction, London 1954
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1954D. Cooper, 'Catalogue of the Courtauld Collection', The Burlington Magazine, XCVI/613, 1954, pp. 119-22
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1957Martin Davies, National Gallery Catalogues: French School, 2nd edn (revised), London 1957
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1970Davies, Martin, and Cecil Gould, National Gallery Catalogues: French School: Early 19th Century, Impressionists, Post-Impressionists etc., London 1970
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1980R.E. Shikes and P. Harper, Pissarro: His Life and Work, London 1980
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1983M. Wilson, French Painting after 1800, London 1983
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1989J. Bailly-Herzberg, Correspondance de Camille Pissarro, Paris 1989
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1992J. Bailly-Herzberg, Pissarro et Paris, Paris 1992
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1992R.R. Brettell and J. Pissarro, The Impressionist and the City: Pissarro's Series Paintings (exh. cat. Dallas Museum of Art, 15 November 1992 - 13 January 1993; Philadelphia Museum of Art, 7 March - 6 June 1993; Royal Academy of Arts, 2 July - 10 October 1993), Dallas 1992
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1994J. House, Impressionisim for England: Samuel Courtauld as Patron and Collector, London 1994
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1994'Art Purchases for the Nation: The Courtauld Fund: Modern Foreign Paintings', in J. House, Impressionism for England: Samuel Courtauld as Patron and Collector, London 1994
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.