Catalog raisonné by Camille Pissarro
The works ( catalog raisonné ) of the French painter Camille Pissarro was published in 1939 in Paris . With this edition by Paul Rosenberg , the two authors Ludovic Rodolphe Pissarro and Lionello Venturi have presented a catalog raisonné for the first time, which was created after the large retrospective in the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris on the artist's 100th birthday in 1930. In 2005, after 20 years of preparatory work, a completely new general catalog was published. This work was originally initiated in 2001 by Daniel Wildenstein , but he died before publication.
Catalog genesis
The first suggestions for a catalog raisonné by Pissarro can be found a few months before his death in an exchange of letters with his eldest son Lucien on March 31, 1903. The son wrote to his father that nothing prevented him from organizing an exhibition of his best works and having it take place together with the publication of the often discussed Catalog Raisonné . He seemed to like the idea and especially emphasized the practical aspect when he replied on April 18:
“Je suis avec ton avis qu'il faut joliment ruminer son affaire quand on veut arriver à quoi que ce soit, le catalog est certainement une chose pratique, néssaire, et que je serais très heureux de voir se réaliser, mais pour y arriver il faut ta présence ici. Mes travaux m'absorbent trop pour que je puisse m'en occuper, le classement est urgent; depuis quelques années je ne m'en suit plus occupé, il faudrait tout revoir, je ne puis compter que sur toi qui sait ce qu'il faut faire et qui apprécie ce qu'il faut choisir ou rejeter. Il faudrait venir en France, je pense que tu pourrais même en vendre ici. [...] Je suis donc tout à fait de ton avis, mais il ne faut pas traîner en longueur. "
"I am of your opinion that you have to think carefully about your business again and again if you want to come to something. So the catalog is certainly a practical thing, necessary, and I would be very happy to see it realized, but to get there it needs your presence here. My work is too demanding for me to take care of it. Sorting is urgent; I haven't bothered about it in a couple of years. One would have to look through everything again, I can only count on you who know what to do and who can assess what to choose or leave out. You'd have to come to France, I think you could even sell here. [...] So I totally agree with you, but you shouldn't delay it too long. "
Camille was very happy about this plan. But he emphasized that Lucien's presence in France was necessary for this, also because he had a lot to do himself. He can only count on him because his son knows what to do and what to avoid. Perhaps Lucien could also do a few more sales, hopes the father. But cataloging is primarily about classification.
After that there is no further correspondence between the two on this subject. Meanwhile, Pissarro seemed to be fighting the clock to bring his life's work to a successful conclusion. He couldn't just stand beside it, he wrote to Lucien, and later “malheureusement je n'ai pas le pouvoir de faire arrêter le soleil”, meaning the days with sunlight that he had to use for painting. In the last years of his life he was stricken with a real creative rage: "Tout que je sais, il faut absolument que je produise ...".
Editing a catalog raisonné with his father's works is something that Lucien has never let go of. In fact, he visited his father in July 1903 and met his brother Ludovic , whom he was also able to inspire with the implementation of this idea. Above all, it is these two who have made a significant contribution to the implementation of the project.
As early as the early 1890s, in connection with the art criticism of Pissarro's works, the need for a chronological retrospective became clear. Louis Brès (born November 12, 1834), an art critic from Marseille , dated the beginning of interest in Pissarro's works at this point in time. From his death in 1903 to his 100th birthday in 1930 there were retrospective exhibitions that had to be curated without such an overview. An exhibition at Durand-Ruel in 1892 said: “une dernière exposition […] nous montrait en pleine possession de son talent et de plus, nous initiait aux travaux de toute sa carrière par un classement chronologique de son œuvre”.
Similar demands were made again and again: On the problem of the classification of his works, Maurice Denis wrote under his pseudonym P.L. Maud (pseudonym litteraire Mau (rice) D) in L'Occident, a French literary magazine, at the end of November 1903: "... l'on peut distinguer les périodes successives de sa production, analyzer les influences qu'il subit ...". He lamented the lack of comparison options in order to be able to assess the artist's influences. He lacked parallels to Gaugin , who, with the South Sea islanders , finally addressed similar motifs as Pissarro. Even Camille Mauclair lamented the lack of a catalog and forecast that such a venture would be no easy task: "Il est impossible d'évaluer le nombre de oeuvres of Pissarro, comme d'ailleurs, de celles de tous les impressionnistes. Cela tient à plusieurs raisons, ... "
Many of his companions and supporters are only now really standing up for him. For example, Georges Lecomte (1867–1958), who would later take over the management of the renowned Parisian graphic school École Estienne , and who never tired of emphasizing that Pissarro was one of the leading impressionists. He wrote: “Tout, l'âme en deuil, nous marchions recueillis, évoquant avec émotion les sages idées qu'il exprimait sur l'art avec tant de grâce descrète, ses nobles paroles de confiance en l'avenir, et sa belle tête blache aux yeux candides, d'un sourire si adorablement jeune […]. En cédant aux instance d'Octave Maus pour écrire ces paroles d'adieu, j'espérais avoir la force de dominer ma peine et d'analyser l'œuvre magistral de Camille Pissarro. […] Mail dès premières lignes j'ai senti que ma douleur est encore trop vive pour le calme d'une telle entreprise. ”These memories and reflections could not induce him to compile such an overview himself.
In 1904, the Durand-Ruel Gallery received the most comprehensive exhibition of Pissarro's oeuvre at the time, with 170 works from the period 1864 to 1903. The often scandalous, anti-Jewish art critic Octave Mirbeau took advice from Pissarro's widow Julie on the purchase of several of his works and apparently promoted the exhibition. He wrote: "Plus qu'aucun peintre, il aura été le peintre, vrai, du sol, de notre sol. [...] Je l'ai connu et je l'ai vénéré" and is thus more differentiated than previous statements. In the foreword to the exhibition catalog he wrote, referring to the work that still needs to be done: “Il manque bien des choses que notre piété eût voulu retrouver parmi cette œuvre énorme et dispersée”. Many of the works were hanging in the United States, others would already be in leading museums in Europe, for example in a very popular gallery in Berlin at the same time, with many of the works they would not have been able to keep them in their home country. Nevertheless, this show is very representative and characteristic of the artist.
It was not until 1923 that Pissarro's eldest son, Lucien, was able to publish a first catalog raisonné together with his brother Rodo. Up until the artist's 100th birthday in 1930, when a large retrospective was held in his honor, it was further improved and reissued. The Musée de l'Orangerie exhibition venue in Paris was a great recognition from the state; Never before has there been such support in France. Both the catalog and exhibition organizers were interested in being able to present as comprehensive a retrospective as possible in order to be able to emphasize the importance of the artist, which in isolated cases was still questioned. In contrast to a previously curated Manet exhibition, the Pissarro retrospective only showed finished pictures and not isolated, thrown sketches. A comprehensive report appeared in the Paris-Soir and gave the readers a picture of a sprawling, internationally recognized, national artist. Critics criticized the obviously non-chronological arrangement of the rooms: “It would undoubtedly have been more advantageous if the paintings of the same time had been hung together. Not only would it make the exhibition appear more attractive, it would also make the documentation more profitable. ”Despite the technical errors, the exhibition was a success. As with Harry Graf Kessler , the effect of Pissarro's pictures on other museum visitors may also have been:
“He remains a third-rate master, neither genius nor great talent; more like a boy scout. But he lacks a strong, appreciative personality. What he sees and says always seems irrelevant, almost indifferent. Not that he is copying Corot, Courbet, Millet, Monet, Seurat, but the fact that his own matters so little belittles him. After all, third rank, i. H. he is a capable, fine, own artist. "
Catalog
His work can be divided into the following periods based on his working methods and whereabouts:
| Period | designation | German designation | Serial numbers 1939 | Serial numbers 2005 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1852-1860 | Années d'apprentissage | Years of apprenticeship | 1-14 | 1-45 |
| 1852 · 1854 · 1856 · 1857 · 1858 · 1859 · 1860 | ||||
| 1861-1868 | Realism symbolique | 15-69 | 46-131 | |
| 1861 · 1862 · 1863 · 1864 · 1865 · 1866 · 1867 · 1868 | ||||
| 1869-1873 | La formation du gût impressionniste | Maturation | 70-236 | 132-324 |
| 1869 · 1870 · 1871 · 1872 · 1873 | ||||
| 1874-1880 | Épanouissement de l'impressionnisme | The heyday of impressionism | 237-528 | 325-640 |
| 1874 · 1875 · 1876 · 1877 · 1878 · 1879 · 1880 | ||||
| 1881-1890 | Néo-Impressionnisme | Neo-impressionism | 529-760 | 641-904 |
| 1881 · 1882 · 1883 · 1884 · 1885 · 1886 · 1887 · 1888 · 1889 · 1890 | ||||
| 1891-1903 | Les dernières années | The last few years | 761-1316 | 905-1528 |
| 1891 · 1892 · 1893 · 1894 · 1895 · 1896 · 1897 · 1898 · 1899 · 1900 · 1901 · 1902 · 1903 | ||||
There are also a large number of drawings, woodcuts, gouaches and other items that are listed under the numbers 1317–1668 (1939).
Individual evidence
- ^ Ludovic Rodolphe Pissarro , Lionello Venturi : Camille Pissarro. Son Art - son œuvre. A catalog raisonné. 1632 illustrations, Paul Rosenberg 1939
- ^ The letters of Lucien to Camille Pissarro, 1883–1930 . Edited by Anne Thorold, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press 1993, p. 762
- ↑ a b Joachim Pissarro , Claire Durand-Ruel Snollaerts : Pissarro. Catalog critique des peintures . Wildenstein Institute , Vol. 2, p. 5
- ↑ Louis Brès: Chronique, Camille Pissarro , in: Le Sémaphore de Marseille , November 24, 1903, p. 1
- ^ Camille Mauclair : Pissarro et le paysage modern , in: La Nouvelle Revue , December 15, 1903, p. 540
- ↑ Georges Lecomte: Le Père Pissarro , in: L'Art Moderne, November 22, 1903, p. 398
- ↑ Octave Mirbeau : Combats esthétiques , Vol. 2, p. 346f.
- ^ Octave Mirbeau: Preface to the catalog of the Durand-Ruel-Retrospective, 7. – 30. April 1904 , reprinted in Gil Blas , October 1, 1911
- ↑ Fernand Demeure (1896–1955): Camille Pissarro , in: Chantecler, March 1, 1930, p. 5