Conversation|Camille Pissarro |Search Collection | The National Museum of Western Art

Updated 07 March 2023

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On Display

Permanent collection

Camille Pissarro

Saint Thomas, 1830 - Paris, 1903

Conversation

Date	c. 1881
Materials and Techniques	oil on canvas
Size（cm）	65.3 x 54
Inscriptions	Signed lower left: C. Pissarro.
Credit Line	Matsukata Collection
Standard ref.	Pissarro/Venturi 544; Pissarro/Snollaerts 658; M867
Category	Paintings
Collection Number	P.1959-0165

The late 1870s to the 1880s were a major turning point in the careers of Pissarro and the other Impressionists. This change was symbolized by Monet, Renoir and Sisley's absence from the 6th Impressionists Exhibition held in 1881, and from this time onwards the Impressionists each struck out on their own path. Pissarro also made some new attempts to find a way out of this impasse amidst these circumstances in the late 1870s. These experiments included his work with prints, his experiments with a new genre, and his research into new techniques in concert with such younger artists as Gauguin, Seurat and Signac. We can find evidence of these changes in this Conversation. Here we can spot the technical precursor to Pissarro's experiments with Seurat's pointillist techniques in the later 1880s. In terms of subject matter, Pissarro here changes his focus to figures, a shift from his earlier emphasis on the landscape. This work was exhibited in the 7th Impressionist Exhibition of 1882. Of the 36 works that Pissarro displayed in that exhibition, 27 of them, as here, portray the figural forms of the farmers around Pontoise. Pissarro's works avoid Millet's dramatically idealized images of farmers, concentrating rather on an unexaggerated depiction of farmers in their everyday surroundings. It is for this reason that Pissarro's farmers exhibit a greater validity and familiarity than that found in Millet. In addition, the unifying touch that creates all, whether figure, road, or tree, conveys a sense of the close bond between Pissarro's peasants and nature. (Source: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2009, cat. no.80)

Provenance

Purchased from the artist by Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris, 4 August 1881; purchased from the above by Erwin Davis, New York, 10 April 1888; bought back from the above by Galerie Durand-Ruel, New York, 14 April 1899; Galerie Durand-Ruel, stock no. 10784 [gallery label on the reverse: “Pissarro 10784, La Conversation”]; purchased from the above by Paul Rosenberg, Paris, 10 January 1918; purchased from the above by Kojiro Matsukata, Kobe, ca. March 1922 (Fr. 25,000) [see letter from Paul Rosenberg to Léonce Bénédite, dated 30 March 1922, in the Bibliothèque centrale des musées nationaux, Paris (copy in NMWA curatorial file)]; sequestered by French government, 1944; vested in French government under San Francisco Peace Treaty, 1952; transferred from French to Japanese government, 23 January 1959; entered into NMWA, April 1959.

Exhibition History

1882: 7e Exposition des artistes indépendants (Salons du Panorama de Reichs-hoffen), Paris, 0 March 1882 - 0 March 1882, cat. no. 123
1883: Œuvres de C. Pissarro, (Paris, 9, Boulevard de la Madeleine), 1 May 1883 - 25 May 1883, cat. no. 46
1917: Französische Kunst des XIX. und XX. Jahrhunderts, Kunsthaus, Zürich, 5 October 1917 - 14 November 1917, cat. no. 150
1924: XIVa Esposizione internazionale d'arte della città di Venezia, 0 1924 - 0 1924, cat. no. 285 bis
1947: De David à Cézanne, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussel, 0 1947 - 0 1947, cat. no. 106
1947: De David à Cézanne, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussel, 0 November 1947 - 0 January 1948, cat. no. 106, pl. 53, repr.
1949: Pintura francesa: de Manet a nuestros días, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires, 0 July 1949 - 0 July 1949, ; Ministerio de Educaçao e Saude, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October 1949; Museo de Bellas Artes, Montevideo, July 1950, cat. no. 7
1953: Van Gogh's grote tijdgenoten, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 0 1953 - 0 1953, cat. no. 42
1955: Mostra di capolavori della pittura francese dell'ottocento, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome, 0 February 1955 - 0 March 1955, cat. no. 85
1956: Peinture française du XIXe siècle, Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, 0 1956 - 0 1956, The State Hermitage Museum, Leningrad, 1956, cat. no.48
1956: Peinture française de David à Cézanne, National Museum, Warsaw, 15 June 1956 - 31 July 1956, cat. no. 80
1960: The Masterpieces of the Ex-Matsukata Collection, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 14 May 1960 - 10 July 1960, cat. no. 102
1962: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Hakutsuru Museum, Kobe, 20 October 1962 - 5 November 1962, P-228
1962: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Art Gallery of Aichi Prefecture, Nagoya, 17 November 1962 - 9 December 1962, cat. no. 43 (当館記録による）
1963: The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Shimane Prefectural Museum, Matsue, 5 October 1963 - 20 October 1963, P-228
1963: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Ishibashi Museum of Art, Kurume, 26 October 1963 - 10 November 1963, P-228
1964: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Nakajima Sports Center of Hokkaido Prefecture, 22 August 1964 - 13 September 1964, cat. no. 16
1965: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, Kanazawa, 22 September 1965 - 10 October 1965, cat. no. 13
1965: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Cultural Center of Okayama Prefecture, Okayama, 20 October 1965 - 7 November 1965, cat. no. 13
1966: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Wakayama Prefectural Museum of Art, Wakayama, 15 October 1966 - 4 November 1966, cat. no. 10
1966: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Cultural Center of Oita Prefecture, Oita, 12 November 1966 - 27 November 1966, cat. no. 10
1967: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Kagoshima Municipal Museum of Art, 28 April 1967 - 21 May 1967, cat. no. 11
1968: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Niigata Prefectural Museum, Niigata, 14 July 1968 - 4 August 1968, cat. no. 13
1968: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Hiroshima Prefectural Museum of Art, Hiroshima, 26 October 1968 - 17 November 1968, cat. no. 13
1969: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Cultural Center of Ibaraki Prefecture, Mito, 22 November 1969 - 21 December 1969, cat. no. 13
1970: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, Nagasaki Prefectural Museum, Nagasaki, 18 October 1970 - 15 November 1970, cat. no. 46
1971: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Toyama Prefectural Center, Museum of Art, Toyama, 2 October 1971 - 24 October 1971, cat. no. 43
1972: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Shinano Museum of Art of Nagano Prefecture, Nagano, 12 October 1972 - 5 November 1972, cat. no. 46
1973: Modern Japanese Art and Paris, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 15 September 1973 - 4 November 1973, The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, 10 November 1973 – 16 December 1973, cat. no. 29
1973: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Cultural Center of Kochi Prefecture, Kochi, 28 October 1973 - 25 November 1973, cat. no. 47
1974: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Cultural Center of Fukuoka Prefecture, Fukuoka, 13 October 1974 - 10 November 1974, cat. no. 46
1974: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Saga Prefectural Museum, Saga, 16 November 1974 - 1 December 1974, cat. no. 46
1975: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Yamagata Museum, Yamagata, 1 November 1975 - 30 November 1975, cat. no. 47
1976: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Tottori Prefectural Museum, Tottori, 9 October 1976 - 7 November 1976, cat. no. 15
1977: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Nara Prefectural Museum, Nara, 15 October 1977 - 13 November 1977, cat. no. 15
1978: [Tour Exhibition] Masterpieces from the National Museum of Western Art, The Art Center of Oita Prefecture, Oita, 20 December 1978 - 31 January 1979, cat. no. 14
1988: Permanent exhibition, Ohara Museum of Art, 8 September 1988 - 9 December 1988
1989: The Old Matsukata Collection, Kobe City Museum, 14 September 1989 - 26 November 1989, cat. no. 28, col. repr.
1995: [Tour Exhibition] Painting: Tradition and Innovation, Yatsushiro Municipal Museum, 14 January 1995 - 5 February 1995, cat. no. 19
1995: [Tour Exhibition] Painting: Tradition and Innovation, Hyogo Prefectural Museum of History, Himeji; Himeji City Museum of Art, 11 February 1995 - 12 March 1995, cat. no. 19
1996: The Crossing Visions: European and Modern Japanese Art from the Collections of The National Museum of Western Art & The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 20 July 1996 - 8 September 1996, cat. no. 35
2000: Tanka at the National Museum of Western Art: An Encounter between Poet and Art, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 25 July 2000 - 29 October 2000, cat. no. 36
2009: Le peinture française du XIXe siècle : académisme et modernité, Shimane　Art　Museum, 6 March 2009 - 31 May 2009, cat. no. 66, col. repr.
2012: Camille Pissarro: Patriarche de la modernité, Utsunomiya Museum of Art, 24 March 2012 - 27 May 2012, cat. no. 33, col. repr., Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, 6 June 2012 - 18 August 2012
2013: Monet, An Eye for Landscapes: Innovation in 19th Century French Landscape Paintings, Pola Museum of Art, 13 July 2013 - 24 November 2013, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 7 December 2013-9 March 2014, cat. no. 28, col. repr.
2017: [Traveling Exhibitions Presenting National Art Museum Collections, Fiscal 2017] Muse: Women before the Artists' Eyes: From the Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, Fukushima Prefectural Museum of Art, 22 April 2017 - 2 July 2017, Akita Museum of Modern Art, 15 July-18 September, cat. no. 25

Bibliography

1939: Pissarro, L. R.; Venturi, L. Camille Pissarro, son art- son œuvre. Paris, 1939 , p. 157, no. 544, pl. 112.
1955: La Collection Matsukata, Tokyo, Asahi- Shimbun, 1955 (Japanese), no.12, col. repr.
1961: Catalogue du Musée National d'Art Occidental, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1961 (Préface and Catalogue Général in Japanese and French), P-228.
1971: Les cent chefs-d'œuvre du Musée National d'Art Occidental. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1971 (Japanese), no. 63, col. repr.
1975: Les cent chefs-d'œuvre du Musée National d'Art Occidental. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1975 (Japanese), no. 46, col. repr.
1978: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1978 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no.53, col. repr.
1979: The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo: Catalogue of Paintings. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1979, no. 216, repr.
1990: The Old Matsukata Collection. Kobe City Museum, ed. Kobe, "Matsukata Korekushon Ten" Jikkoiinkai, 1990, cat. no. 1203.
1996: Berson, Ruth, The New Painting: Impressionism, 1874-1886, vol. 2, pp. 209, 228, cat. no. VII-123, repr.
2005: Pissarro, Joachim; Snollaerts, Claire Durand-Ruel. Pissarro: critical catalogue of paintings. Milan, Skira; Paris, Wildenstein Institute, 2005, vol. 2, p. 440, cat. no. 658, repr.
2006: Masterpieces of The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2006 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 80, col. repr.
2009: Masterpieces of The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2009, no. 80, col. repr.
2013: Masterpieces: The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2013 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 92, col. repr.
2013: MONET, An Eye For Landscapes: Innovation in 19th Century French Landscape Paintings(exh. cat.). Tokyo, TBS, c2013, cat. no. 28, col. repr.
2018: The Matsukata Collection: Complete Catalogue of the European Art. Kawaguchi, Masako; Jingaoka, Megumi, eds. vol. 1: Paintings, Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2018, cat. no. 867, col. repr.

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