The Bonfire

Felix Pissarro 1874 - 1906

Summary

It is not the bonfire itself that is the central subject of this painting, as the title implies, but the play of light on the landscape, suggesting the transience and instability of nature. The brushwork and colour are strongly influenced by the work of the Impressionists, including that of Félix's father, Camille Pissarro, as seen in the trees, grass and sky denoted by slanting brushstokes in contrasting tones. In 1893 Félix opened a galllery in England with his brothers Lucien and Georges, which was intended for the permanent display of their work. He lived only briefly in England until his tragically premature death at Kew at the age of twenty-three.