Pissarro was an important mentor to many of the mostly younger artists with whom he associated, and to whom he offered advice on painting and lessons on life. In this scene of a village road beside a river in Pontoise, Pissarro used the cool, blonde palette and buttery style of paint application typical of his early work. He has saturated the composition with spots of lush colour, which are used to great effect to capture shimmering water and dappled sunlight playing over earth and grass alike. Both Cézanne and Gauguin worked alongside Pissarro as they developed their artistic careers, adopting characteristic features of his work into their own. Gauguin also collected Pissarro’s work and lent to exhibitions during the artist’s lifetime.
Camille Pissarro
French (born in the Danish West Indies) 1830–1903
Sunlight on the Road, Pontoise 1874 (detail)
oil on canvas
52.4 x 81.6 cm
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Juliana Cheney Edwards Collection (25.114)
© 2025 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Reproduced with permission. All Rights Reserved.
