Pissarro played a major role in the development of Impressionism. On several occasions in the 1870s he visited Montfoucault, a hamlet in Normandy, north of Mayenne, which he called ‘the true countryside’. There he stayed at the farm of his friend, the painter Ludovic Piette, whose pond is depicted here. The autumnal effect is achieved by strokes of both palette-knife and brush, while the subject recalls the work of Millet (compare his Milkmaid).

Inscriptions / Translations:  Signed and dated l.l.: C. Pissarro 1875

Notes:  Exhibited: 'Exposition de tableaux de Monet, Pissarro, Renoir et Sisley', Galeries Durand-Ruel, Paris, France, 1899, no. 42; 'Tableaux, pastels et gouaches par Camille Pissarro', Galeries Durand-Ruel, Paris, France, 1921, no. 31; 'Tableaux de Camille Pissarro', Galeries Durand-Ruel, Paris, France, 1928, no. 22; 'Pissarro Centenary Exhibition', Orangerie, Paris, France, 1930, no. 28; 'A Collection of Pictures Recently Purchased in France', Arthur Tooth & Sons Ltd., London, UK, 1951, no. 13; 'Impressionism', Royal Academy, London, UK, 09 February 1974 - 28 April 1974, no. 88; 'Camille Pissarro: Impressionism, Landscape and Rural Labour', Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham, UK, 08 March 1990 - 22 April 1990, no. 19; 'French Impressionism: Treasures from the Midlands', Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham, UK, 07 June 1991 - 18 August 1991, p. 18; 'Pissarro', Museo Thyssen-Bornesmisza, Madrid, Spain, 04 June - 15 September 2013; 'Pissarro', Caixa Forum, Barcelona, Spain, 15 October 2013 - 26 January 2014; 'Camille Pissarro', Musee Marmottan Monet, 23 February - 2 July 2017.

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