CAMILLE PISSARO (French 1830 - 1903). Portrait d'Alfred Isaacson, circa 1883. Pastel on paper. 20-1/2 x 16in.. PROVENA...

Description

CAMILLE PISSARO (French 1830 - 1903)
Portrait d'Alfred Isaacson, circa 1883
Pastel on paper
20-1/2 x 16in.

PROVENANCE:
Acquired from the artist by his nephew, Alfred Isaacson, London;
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York;
Henry Pearlman collection, New York;
Property of a Gentleman

LITERATURE:
Ludovic-Rodolfe Pissarro and Lionello Venturi, Camille Pissarro, Son Art-Son Oeuvre (Paris, 1939), vol. 1, no. 1564, vol. 2, no. 1564, illus.;
Camille Pissarro, Letters to His Son Lucien, edited with the assistance of Lucien Pissarro by John Rewald, 3rd ed. (New York, 1972), pp. 49-51.

This lively sketch depicts Pissarro's nephew, his half-sister's son, Alfred Isaacson. The artist's own son, Lucien, stayed with Alfred and his family when in London. Writing to Lucien in a letter dated December 28, 1883, Pissarro mentions this portrait, stating that it is a good resemblance (see Letters in Literature above). The spirited letter mostly addresses popular philosophical matters, revealing the artist's passion for the groundbreaking liberal ideas of the day. Pissarro promises to send his son a copy of Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du Mal and also encourages Alfred to read books on socialism as well as the works of John Stuart Mill: "They are easy reading and should give him [Alfred] a general idea of the movement which points to the new road our society must take" (Letters, p. 50).



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