The rainbow, Pontoise

Impressionistic
The rainbow, Pontoise reflects a typically impressionistic way of observing and painting. The sun has just broken through after a storm has blown over. A rainbow appears on the horizon. The front section of the landscape is still dark and cloudy, but halfway the houses and fields are illuminated by the bright sunlight. This is clearly about capturing the fleeting moment, the short time in which the rainbow is visible.

Influential
Camille Pissarro was one of the most influential impressionists. For many painters of his day, he was a friend and mentor. In 1872, he settled in Pointoise, where various artists visited him. One of them was Paul Cézanne, who later said about him: ‘He was a father to me. A man you could ask for advice, a bit like the good Lord’.

Vincent van Gogh
He also meant a lot to Vincent van Gogh. They shared a love of the countryside and rural life and in Paris, Pissarro encouraged him to use bright colours and adopt a freer style of painting. Pissarro was one of the first admirers of Van Gogh’s work.