Field and Mill at Osny (Pontoise), 1885

Field and Mill at Osny (Pontoise), 1885 is a masterful print by Camille Pissarro, created late in his Impressionist career when he was intensely focused on experimenting with graphic arts. This piece is technically complex, executed using etching, drypoint, and aquatint on heavy beige laid paper, and represents the sixth and final state of the composition. Pissarro created this image while living near Osny, a rural area that frequently supplied the quiet, domestic subject matter favored by the artist during the 1880s.

The composition captures a typical scene of agrarian life and modest industry. The foreground is defined by careful textures rendered through the drypoint method, particularly noticeable in the wooden fences that delineate the fields and guide the eye toward the cluster of rustic houses and the distant structure of the mill. Pissarro frequently populated his landscapes with evidence of daily human and animal labor; here, several cows graze peacefully in the enclosed pasture, lending a sense of timeless quietude to the scene. The interplay of light and shadow achieved through the manipulation of the aquatint ground demonstrates Pissarro’s dedication to translating the subtle atmospheric effects of the Oise countryside into the highly structured medium of the print.

This significant impression, dating from the height of Pissarro’s prolific graphic output, resides within the extensive collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As with many important historical prints, the work attests to the growing importance of graphic reproduction in the late 19th century. High-resolution reproductions of this work are often available through public domain sources, allowing researchers and enthusiasts globally to study Pissarro’s comprehensive attention to line and composition in his varied approach to printmaking.