The Pont-Neuf, Effect of Snow and Fog. 1902. Private collection. PDRS 1412.
In the winter of 1901-1902, Pissarro and his family returned to Paris and stayed for the second time on the Ile de la Cité, the small island in the middle of the Seine. His apartment faced the equestrian statue of Henri IV and on both sides, he could see the Pont-Neuf connecting the island to the riverbanks. To his right beyond the statue was the Louvre and to his left, the Hotel de la Monnaie. Pissarro made 26 oil paintings from his windows during that winter.
On one snowy day, Pissarro chose a familiar view of the Pont-Neuf, looking toward the Right Bank where normally he could see flags flying on the Samaritaine department store. On this day, the buildings at the end of the bridge are hardly visible at all. The falling snow throws a glistening white veil over the entire scene, broken only by the movement of the dark carriages on the bridge.
The bridge itself is simply a diagonal separating two color blocks—the large area of sky delicately pricked by the faint outlines of buildings contrasting with the dark blue-gray triangle of water in the lower right corner. The brilliant white sky is actually made up of faint brush strokes of pink and blue, each overlapping the other. The dark water is made of solid slabs of color ranging from dark blue to light gray. Pissarro’s use of color blocks in this and many other paintings foreshadows the work of Rothko in the 1950s.
This magnificent painting was part of the recent auction at Christie’s in New York City.
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