Church and Farm at Éragny

"Church and Farm at Éragny" by Camille Pissarro French, 1830-1903, is a sophisticated example of the artist's printmaking practice late in his career. Executed in 1895, this work utilizes the demanding intaglio techniques of etching and drypoint, rendered in rich black ink on buff laid paper. Pissarro elevated the unique quality of this impression by incorporating delicate pastel additions directly onto the surface, blurring the traditional line between graphic art and drawing.

Pissarro, a crucial figure in the development of Impressionism and modern art in France, spent the last decades of his life capturing the agricultural rhythms of the landscape surrounding his home in Éragny-sur-Epte. Though internationally renowned for his vivid paintings, he maintained a profound, often experimental commitment to creating prints, which allowed him to explore line, texture, and tonal density with formal rigor. This specific piece captures a quiet moment of rural domesticity, featuring farm structures nestled near the dominant, stabilizing form of the village church.

Created just eight years before his death, this composition showcases Pissarro's evolving interest in structural solidity while maintaining the atmospheric effects central to his vision. This important impression is now part of the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, where it serves as a critical document for understanding the 1830-1903 master’s diverse graphic output. The existence of such fine, accessible examples ensures continued scholarly research into his varied artistic production, including his lesser-known yet masterful collection of prints.