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By: Damien Worst
Date: 12th Apr 06
Medium: Painting
Drink: Herbal tea
What:
Pissarro
Where:
NGV International, 180 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne
When:
Runs until May 28
Daily 10-5, closed Tuesdays
How much:
$18 adult, $12 concession, $9 NGV members
Contact:
8662 1555 or online
If Sid Vicious and 19th century French Artist Camile Pissarro ever came face to face, they surely would have enjoyed a few shots of tequila and a wrestle. Self-confessed anarchist and artistic genius to boot, Pissarro is the drummer of the Impressionist band, which included Renoir, Cezanne and front-man Monet.
Experimental, innovative and a little crazy, the young Camile once threatened to burn down Le Louvre, before changing his tune to organise the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874 Paris. Unfortunately like all visionaries, his landscapes, portraits and urban panoramas continued to earn their unfair share of flack until his death in 1903.
Expert curation by the NGV allows even the least impressionable of us to follow the artist’s stylistic change and inspiration, through vibrant early landscape prints, to the mind-bending palettes of his “Neo-Impressionist” stage. Even if you don’t go gaga for big galleries, this is well worth $18. The NGV’s also gone baguettes on the French theme, with short courses and free French films running April - May.
Image credit:
Camille Pissarro
French 1830ˆ1903
Factory near Pontoise 1873
oil on canvas
45.7 x 54.6 cm
Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, Massachusetts
The James Philip Gray Collection