Poplars, Éragny

Camille Pissarro

Oil on canvas

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Painted in the summer of 1895, this oil on canvas depicts a corner of Pissarro's garden at Éragny-sur-Epte, a small village in northern France where the artist lived from 1884 until his death in 1903. Tall poplar trees dominate the composition, rendered in lush greens and dappled light with the loose, tactile brushwork characteristic of Pissarro's mature Impressionist style. Because a persistent eye ailment hampered him from working outdoors, Pissarro likely painted this view from his studio window—a practice that shaped much of his output during the 1890s. A leading figure of French Impressionism, Pissarro was born in the Danish West Indies and became a foundational influence on the movement, mentoring artists including Cézanne, Gauguin, and Seurat.