Artwork
Rue Saint-Lazare, Paris
Rue Saint-Lazare, Paris is a print by the Impressionist artist Camille Pissarro. It dates from 1897 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
Camille Pissarro’s lithograph titled "Rue Saint‑Lazare, Paris" depicts a bustling thoroughfare on an overcast day. The composition shows slick cobblestones, horse‑drawn carriages, and pedestrians hurrying beneath umbrellas, conveying the rhythm of urban life in the late nineteenth century.
Subject & Meaning
The image captures a moment of everyday activity in Paris, emphasizing the interplay of weather, movement, and architecture. By focusing on ordinary commuters and traffic, the work reflects Pissarro’s interest in the social fabric of the modern city and its transient scenes.
Technique & Style
Created directly on lithographic stone, the drawing employs swift, confident strokes that impart a sense of immediacy. The bold lines and limited tonal range highlight the atmospheric conditions and convey the kinetic energy of the street, characteristic of Pissarro’s late‑period printmaking.
History & Provenance
Pissarro first experimented with lithography in 1874 but set the medium aside after several attempts. He returned to it in 1894, producing roughly fifty lithographs over the next few years, among them this view of Rue Saint‑Lazare, which documents his renewed engagement with the technique.
Artist & collection
Artist
Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro ( piss-AR-oh; French: ; 10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of Saint Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but then in the…
