November Sunset on the Thames, Kew. Lucien Pissarro (1863-1944). 1919. Oil on canvas. H 43.4 x W 53.2 cm. Collection: Manchester Art Gallery. Accession number: 1925.305; gift from Charles Lambert Rutherston, 1925. Kindly made available via Art UK on the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (CC BY-NC-ND).
Another of Pissarro's winter scenes, this one was painted in one of his favourite locations, Kew. Lanes and rivers often give focus to his paintings, and capturing the early morning light, or sunset, lifts the view above the ordinary. This atmospheric work shows the river as it curves towards Chiswick and beyond, with poplars on the far right and a species of willow and some bushy undergrowth on the opposite bank. It is a typical scene on any quiet stretch of the Thames, but Pissarro gives it an extra charm: the setting sun gleams through the branches to the left, and the towpath on this side catches a reddish glow too, mixed with blue-grey shadows. These are darker and more solid than the tints mingling with the silvery current of the flowing water. – Jacqueline Banerjee
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Created 14 August 2020