The Banks of the Oise at Pontoise

Camille Pissarro lived in Pontoise from 1866 to 1883, making the town and its surroundings his primary subject. This view of the Oise River shows his mature Impressionist style: broken brushwork, natural light, and an everyday scene heightened to art.

Pissarro was the oldest of the Impressionists and the only one to show at all eight of their exhibitions. He mentored younger artists including Cézanne and Gauguin, who came to paint with him at Pontoise.

The National Gallery of Art holds several Pissarro landscapes from his productive Pontoise period.