Beggar with a Crutch (Mendiant a la bequille)

Beggar with a Crutch (Mendiant a la bequille) by Camille Pissarro is an arresting example of the artist's sustained engagement with graphic arts during the latter part of his career. Created in 1897, this distinctive print is classified as a lithograph executed on blue-violet paper, which was subsequently laid down on white paper. This unusual layering technique emphasizes the textural qualities inherent in the lithographic process while utilizing a colored ground that enhances the somber mood of the scene. Produced during the 1876 to 1900 period, the work belongs firmly within the French tradition of examining ordinary life, though Pissarro infuses it with his characteristic attention to psychological depth.

The subject matter focuses squarely on a solitary figure, the beggar, clearly identified by the titular crutch. Pissarro often turned his attention to marginalized figures and the working class in his later works, subjects that lent a quiet gravitas to his output as Impressionism gave way to Post-Impressionist trends. The starkness of the black-and-white medium, softened by the blue-violet tint of the paper, suits the gravity of the subject, rendering the figure with strong outlines and subtle tonal gradations achieved through the transfer of the drawing onto the lithographic stone.

As a fine art print, this piece reflects Pissarro's continuous experimentation with reproductive media, seeking both artistic nuance and broader accessibility for his images. Though known primarily as a defining figure of French Impressionism, Pissarro’s contributions to the graphic arts are significant, moving beyond traditional landscape and city scenes to focus on genre figures. The delicate rendering and palpable pathos of the subject in Beggar with a Crutch distinguish it within his print portfolio. This powerful observation of late 19th-century societal dynamics is held in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., where it serves as a valuable resource for studying French prints from the close of the century. The work captures the blend of realism and human sympathy that defined much of Pissarro’s activity during this transitionary artistic phase.