France, 19th century / 1879
Edge of the Woods Near L'Hermitage, Pontoise
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Edge of the Woods Near L'Hermitage, Pontoise as painting (France, 19th century · 1879).
A goat seen from the back standing next to the figure in blue laying in the grass invites the viewer to step inside this serene and beautiful setting.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this painting as oil on fabric and credits Camille Pissarro (French, 1830–1903).
The museum's collection notes: Born to a French-Jewish family on St. Thomas island in the Caribbean, Pissarro painted this monumental landscape when he was desperately poor and struggling to sell his paintings. It depicts a man slumbering in the sun-dappled backwoods of the Hermitage, a rural village near Pontoise, where the artist had been living since 1872. Restricting his palette to pure hues, Pissarro applied brushstrokes in systematic diagonal patterns, producing an effect that he likened to knitting. This canvas was included in the fourth Impressionist exhibition of 1879.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtEdge of the Woods Near L'Hermitage, PontoiseOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.