Camille Pissarro 1896: Pont Boieldieu in Rouen, Rainy Weather oil on canvas

Introduction

Camille Pissarro painted this art in the year 1896 with the intention of capturing a moment of celebration of the progress and productivity of the French industry. While painting this particular piece of art, the artist did not consider the pollution that is being witnessed in present times. Although the artist lived in the countryside, he had a tendency to escape the rural in search of the energetic urban environment of major port cities like Rouen. This piece of art is the first modern painting that Pissarro drew since most of the work he had done before showed the traditional side of the country. Therefore, it was a challenge for him, but he did his best, and the result was terrific. “Pissarro appreciated the industrial side of the city, as he did other paintings of the town in different weather and light conditions”[1]. Pont Boieldieu in Rouen, Rainy Weather is of the impressionism style. He had spent ten years focusing on Post-Impressionism and Pointalism before painting Pont Boieldieu in Rouen, Rainy Weather.

Contents of the Art

The materials of this painting include buildings that are located at the riverside. Based on the fact that these buildings have chimneys at the top, it is clear that the crowded area in the painting is an industrial area. The picture also contains a flowing river with a bridge made of strong pillars on top of it. “The painting also contains people who are situated in various parts of the picture. Some of them are located at the top of the bridge while others are located at the side of the river”1. In the painting, smoke can also be seen in two sections, which are the lower part of the picture near a boat that has been docked, and the other in the upper part of the painting near the industrial area.

In this painting, Pissarro wanted to portray an image of all the activities going on in the French industries and the productivity gained from the progress in this sector. This can be proven by the presence of a trail of people with horses and carts who are crossing the bridge. In this particular painting, one can also see two boats with one in the middle of the river, and the other one docked near the chimney that is producing smoke. There are people near the docked, which shows that the boat is operational, and there is a possibility that the boat is used to transport people coming to the industrial area and also the products from these factories.

The artist invested a lot of time to paint this particular painting due to the fact that it is very beautiful, and there are a golden bridge that was completed in 1885, running across the picture. “Pissarro also captured a Crain that was in the process of offloading in order to correctly send his message of the progress and the productivity of the French industries”[2] Kozbelt (2014). In the lower part of the painting, there is also a huge stone that the artist included in order to show the natural setting of this particular location. A general view of the picture reveals that there are many buildings on the upper end of the painting, and there are also many people who are moving and going on with their daily activities. All these activities and contents portray that Rouen is a bustling city that has many people and buildings on it.

Composition of the Art

Lines

In this painting, the artist has fully utilized lines to bring out the best view of its contents. The artist used vertical lines to show different contents like buildings, the bridge, the Crain, and smoke from the boat in order to view it clearly. The artist utilized vertical lines perfectly in various parts of the painting, such as the upper end, where buildings appear taller hence making it possible for the viewers to notice their presence in the painting without any struggle. The golden bridge, which also runs across the river, is also taller, which also makes it easily visible. The smoke that is coming from the boat also runs to the top of the painting, which shows that the artist used vertical lines to make the smoke visible and also communicate the message that the ships were not only present in the painting, but they were also operational. Horizontal lines have also been utilized in this particular piece of art to portray various contents. First, the artist also used horizontal lines to show the golden bridge, which occupies most of the part at the center of the bridge. Pissarro also utilized horizontal lines in this painting to portray the flowing river in the picture.

Color

The component of color was also correctly utilized in this painting to portray various contents to all potential viewers. The artist used the white color to portray the presence of smoke in the art, which worked perfectly since one can easily spot smoke even though the picture is filled with a lot of contents. The artist also used the grey color to show the flowing river in the painting. All the roofs of the buildings in the painting are also painted red in order to make it easy for the viewers to spot the houses in the painting. The black color was also used in the painting to make it easy for some of the tiny contents such as the boats in the painting. There are also traces of yellow and green in the painting, which was used by the artist also to show some tiny contents in the picture as well as make it more beautiful and lively.

Shape

In this particular painting, the artist used the component of shape to make it possible to include numerous content in the art especially the taller ones, without cutting them. The artist used the rectangular shape so that viewers could also view the picture as an exact reflection of the real City of Rouen in the year 1896. The texture of the painting also appears gloomy and dull, which the artist also used to show that the picture was drawn during the gloomy and cloudy weather. The painting also shows that there is a pattern in which the artist has utilized to make the art more beautiful and lively. The way the artist used the yellow color along with the areas that are covered with a lot of content such as upper end with buildings and also the lower part where the artist drew a boat that is being offloaded.

Artistic Principles

Unity

The artist utilized various artistic principles to perfectly bring out the clarity of the contents of the painting and also communicate a message to the viewers. One of the artistic principles that the artist used is unity. Almost all the contents in the painting are unified to show that this particular painting was drawn to capture a specific moment in the City of Rouen, which is situated in France. For instance, the people who are moving up and down and going on with their duties are correctly connected with the buildings of the city and also the boat which is being offloaded. This shows how the city is bustling, and there is movement and also a lot of activities that are going on in the city.

Proportion

Another artistic principle that was used by Pissarro in this particular painting is proportion. Although the people who are busy crossing the bridges might not be visible, the artist made sure that the people who are situated at the lower end of the painting are visible. The contents that are around them are not big enough to cover them. In the picture, the artist also made sure that the sizes of all the buildings that are situated at the upper end of the painting are also close to the same size. This is useful to the viewers since it helps them notice the presence of these buildings without having to struggle too much. Another way in which the artist has utilized the artistic principle is the texture of the painting. The colors used in the painting bring out a texture that makes the picture appear ancient. This is a perfect way to show that the artist painted this particular piece of art in ancient times when France still celebrated their industrial progress and productivity without paying much attention to the pollution that has turned out to be an important topic at the present times.

Generally, this particular piece of art is one of the best works that was ever done by Pissarro. Because this was his first modern drawing, the artist did his best to paint a picture that showed a perfect in which a city could appear during the day. The boats, horses, and carts, people going on with their daily activities is also a clear indication that this particular piece of art was meant to show the viewers how urban areas are always full of events, and people are forever dedicated to working to make their lives better.

Conclusion

In this particular piece of art, the artist has utilized various components and artistic principles to perfectly bring out all the contents and also communicate his message to his viewers. Some of the components used in this art include shape, color, and lines. Shape was used in the art to create adequate space for all the contents to be perfectly positioned in the art. Pissarro used color to make all the contents in the painting visible and also make the entire painting attractive to all the potential viewers. Lines was utilized in the painting to make various contents such as buildings, the golden bridge, and the river clearly visible in the art. Some of the artistic principles used by the artist to in this particular painting are unity, proportion and texture. All the components and artistic principles used by the artist made this painting appear more attractive and easy to read the message that the artist intended to communicate.

References

Kozbelt, Aaron. "Originality and technical skill as components of artistic quality." Empirical studies of the arts 22, no. 2 (2004): 157-170.

Zhao, Sicheng, Yue Gao, Xiaolei Jiang, Hongxun Yao, Tat-Seng Chua, and Xiaoshuai Sun. "Exploring principles-of-art features for image emotion recognition." In Proceedings of the 22nd ACM International Conference on Multimedia, pp. 47-56. 2014.