Artwork
Road by a Field of Cabbages
Road by a Field of Cabbages is a print by the Impressionist artist Camille Pissarro. It dates from 1880 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Camille Pissarro’s monotype titled *Road by a Field of Cabbages* dates from around 1880. Executed on wove paper, the work combines gray and yellow pigments in a single print. Its modest dimensions and limited palette reflect the artist’s interest in capturing a fleeting rural scene with immediacy.
Subject & Meaning
The image presents a solitary tree rising above a cultivated cabbage field. The vegetables occupy the lower portion, their rounded leaves rendered with swift, gestural strokes. A narrow dirt track bisects the ground, disappearing toward a distant horizon where faint silhouettes of trees or structures suggest a broader landscape beyond the cultivated plot.
Technique & Style
Pissarro employed the monotype process, printing directly from a painted plate onto paper, which yields a single impression with soft tonal variations. The limited use of gray and yellow emphasizes the interplay of light and shade, while the rough, almost scribbled brushwork conveys a sense of spontaneity characteristic of early Impressionist experiments.
History & Provenance
Created circa 1880, the print belongs to the period when Pissarro was exploring rural subjects and the possibilities of printmaking. While specific ownership records are scarce, the work is documented in catalogues of the artist’s prints and has been exhibited in surveys of 19th‑century French monotypes.
Artist & collection
