088

  • Pont des Arts

  • Attributed to ca. 1860-1870
  • Charles Camille François Pécrus (French 1826-1907)
  • Oil on canvas
  • 33.0 x 46.4 cm., 13 x 18-1/4"
  • Lent Courtesy of Private Collection through Catherine Carter Goebel, Paul A. Anderson Chair in the Arts

Essay by Colleen Jaycox, Class of 2006

French Impressionist Charles Pécrus' main subjects in painting were genre scenes and landscapes. In this pursuit, he was encouraged by friends such as Louis-Eugène Boudin (web gallery 86), the pivotal landscape painter who mentored Claude Monet. Although Pécrus often worked alongside Boudin, their styles differed. Boudin's "touch was more nervous and sometimes even jerky," and Pécrus "painted more gently while giving a light impression of blurriness" (Pécrus and Pécrus 4). Pécrus' oil Pont des Arts (Bridge of the Arts-completed in 1804) is an example of his combining his interests in genre and landscape. Many important Parisian figures crossed this centrally located historic bridge. Its wood and steel construction (the first of its kind in Paris) connected the Louvre on the right bank to the Institut de France on the left.

The building and reconstruction of this bridge hailed Napoleon III's innovative modernization of Paris, undertaken by Baron Haussmann during the mid-nineteenth century. Many Parisians felt that "Balzac's Paris-crumbling with age, slum-ridden, unsanitary, prone to cholera epidemics, over-crowded-was to be brought up to date" (Jones 214). Artists captured the renewed intimacy Parisians now felt toward their capital city. The depiction of such architectural achievements reflected Pécrus' homage to the newly renovated bridge, a magnificent example of French engineering within its urban environment. In this painting, Pécrus created a modern urban landscape, including genre scenes at the city's center. Parisians are portrayed in a variety of poses and locations along the Seine. Some are in the foreground engaging in daily activities accompanied by their dogs, others are strolling along the river and a few in the distance are crossing the Pont des Arts. Portraying these figures together in this scene demonstrated that Paris enjoyed much active life and leisurely flow.

Upon analyzing the technical aspects of Pécrus' brushstrokes, one notes that the lack of sharpness around the edges of the figures and the seeming blurriness of atmospheric perspective combine to give the painting that unfinished look for which the Impressionists are famous. Pécrus' interesting mix of colors is evident in his shades of black in the dog and owner in the foreground and in the famous bridge behind them. This specific technique was probably learned from Boudin who mixed shades of black in a similar fashion in his figures. In terms of stylistic composition, it is interesting to note that although this is an urban landscape, nearly two-thirds of the painting depicts the vast sky, river and trees lining the walkway. In fact the balance of nature and figures is quite similar to that achieved by Boudin in his Trouville beach resort depictions. With his Impressionist love for landscape, this painting also clearly reflects Pécrus' growing tendency to dedicate his work solely to nature.