Pissarro, Camille (1830-1903)
Autoportrait à la palette (Self Portrait with Palette)
c.1898
Oil on canvas, 53.02 × 30.48 cm
Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas
Pissarro experienced a chronic eye disease at the end of his life. Because of frequent eye infections, he avoided the outdoors, where irritants like pollution and dust caused him additional discomfort. As an alternative to painting outside, Pissarro rented hotel rooms and used them as his studio. He likely painted this self-portrait in a room of the Grand Hôtel du Louvre in Paris, overlooking the Place du Théâtre Francais, a painting of which hangs nearby. (DMA)