Camille Pissarro (French, 1830-1903) Avenue de l'Opéra, Place du Théâtre Français: Misty Weather, 1898 Oil on canvas Collection Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Klapper, New York
	Camille Pissarro could see the vast panorama of Avenue de l’Opéra in Paris from the window of his hotel. During the end of his career, Pissarro suffered from an eye condition that made it difficult for him to work outdoors. His city paintings were created in rented rooms that overlooked city streets. In 1898, he painted the view defined by the vast intersection and inverted “V” of the avenue. Although the painting is densely populated, individuals are only suggested, so that Pissarro’s subjects are distant and essentially anonymous. His urban pictures are concerned primarily with spatial depth, and in this work the vortex of the composition appears to be veiled in smoke.