About Camille Pissarro

  • Biography

    Camille Pissarro was born in 1830 on the Island of St.Thomas, a then-Danish colony of the Antilles (now the United States Virgin Islands). His family background was mixed French, Portuguese and Jewish. He was sent to Paris to school when he was twelve. Although at an early age he wanted to make art his career, his father sent for him in 1847 to return to St. Thomas and for the next five years the young Pissarro was engaged against his will in the family business. In 1852 he went to Venezuela with Fritz Melbye, an artist, and brought back various sketches. Going to Paris in 1855 he made the acquaintance of Corot and fell under his influence. A realist at heart, he followed Corot's advice always to paint out of doors.

    By 1866 he had me...

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