Coucher de soleil, le Port de Rouen, bateaux à vapeur (1898)

Pissarro, Camille (1830-1903)

Coucher de soleil, le Port de Rouen, bateaux à vapeur (Sunset, the Port of Rouen, Steamboats)
1898
Oil on canvas, 65 x 81.1 cm
National Museum WalesCardiff

In 1884 Pissarro moved to Eragny, east of Rouen. This composition was inspired by the harbour scenes of Claude Monet and Turner in the National Gallery. Painted from an upstairs window of the Hôtel de l’Angleterre, this sunset view of the Seine at Rouen depicts shipping and harbour buildings through industrial smoke. Pissarro claimed that such river views were ‘as beautiful as Venice.’ Margaret Davies knew Rouen well, having worked there during the First World War. She purchased this view in 1920. (NMW)

See also:

• Rouen (France)