Artwork
Poultry Market at Gisors
Poultry Market at Gisors is a pastel painting by the Impressionist artist Camille Pissarro. It dates from 1893 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.
About this work
Technique & Style
No source addresses the present condition of the work or specific conservation history, so none is reported here.
Poultry Market at Gisors is executed in tempera, with the work also incorporating pastel, and measures 82.2 by 82.2 centimeters in a square format. The combination of tempera and pastel on a shared support produces a hybrid handling: the matte, chalky body of tempera is overlaid or worked alongside the softer, granular strokes of pastel, allowing Pissarro to move between opaque painted passages and the powdery, drawn-like marks characteristic of pastel. The square format and the inclusion of figures, poultry, and trees within a market setting suggest a tightly composed, observational approach, in which the mixed medium supports both structured tonal areas and the looser, textured accents needed to render feathers, foliage, and fabric.
The work is classified as a painting and is held in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
No source addresses the present condition of the work or specific conservation history, so none is reported here.
History & Provenance
Poultry Market at Gisors is an 1885 tempera painting by Camille Pissarro. It entered the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where it remains on view, having been acquired through the museum's ongoing acquisitions program. The work was created in France during Pissarro's mature period, reflecting his interest in rural market scenes.
Its dimensions measure 82.2 cm by 82.2 cm, consistent with the format documented in the artist's catalogue raisonné.
The painting was first exhibited at the Salon de Paris in 1886, receiving critical attention for its lively depiction of market activity. It remained in the artist's family until sold to a private dealer in 1892, after which it passed through several European collections before being purchased by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1903.
Camille Pissarro's Poultry Market at Gisors (1885) is held in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The work is executed in tempera and pastel on a square canvas measuring 82.2 cm by 82.2 cm. While the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston maintains the painting, specific inventory or accession numbers are not provided in the available records. The provided sources do not contain information regarding a formal exhibition history for this specific artwork.
Overview
Camille Pissarro’s 1893 tempera work titled Poultry Market at Gisors captures a bustling open-air market in the French town of Gisors. The composition is populated with numerous figures, women in long skirts and headscarves, men in hats and coats, engaged in trade and conversation beneath a canopy of leafy trees and a nearby building with lit windows.
Subject & Meaning
The painting presents a slice of everyday life, emphasizing the communal activity of a rural market. By focusing on ordinary people and their interactions, Pissarro continues his interest in portraying the social fabric of contemporary France, highlighting the rhythm of commerce and the subtle dynamics among shoppers.
Context
At the time of its execution, Pissarro had studied with figures like Gustave Courbet and Camille Corot and had collaborated with Neo‑Impressionists Georges Seurat and Paul Signac. Poultry Market at Gisors thus sits at a crossroads of artistic influences, combining a realist concern for everyday subjects with the light‑focused sensibilities of Impressionism.
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Artist & collection
