Fox Hill, Upper Norwood by Camille Pissarro
Oil on Canvas, 1870
I continue my monthly series on seasonal paintings available to view in London galleries with this wintery scene of Fox Hill in Upper Norwood by Camille Pisarro.
This was painted by Pisarro when he was in self imposed exile in London between 1870 – 71. He arrived with his family in December of 1870, eventually settling in Upper Norwood. At the time, this was an area of development with small villages slowly being swallowed up by the suburbs of London. It was a particularly cold winter when he painted this picture and I think this is captured in the colours used. There is a greyness to the light and although some blue in the sky it looks cold. The smoke from the chimney merges with the clouds and despite the beauty of the scene there is a bleakness too. The trees are bare, and the road looks frozen and hard. The people in the painting looked well wrapped up against the weather. Apart from the red in one of the ladies dresses, their clothes are dark too and match the weather and chilly feel of the painting.
You can view this painting in Room 44 as part of the Main Collection at The National Gallery
