H. Claude Pissarro (b. 1935)
H. Claude Pissarro was born in 1935 and hails from a long line of prestigious painters, beginning with his notable grandfather, Camille Pissarro(1830-1903). A master of Impressionism, Camille traveled in the influential circle of Parisian artists from that formative time period, including Monet, Van Gogh and Cezanne. Camille Pissarro was a masterful teacher and instructed his five sons, as well as Cezanne and Gaugin. Paulémile (1884-1972), Camille’s youngest son followed in his footsteps as a landscape painter of Normandie and Ile-de-France. When Camille Pissarro passed on in 1903, Paulémile was forced to give up painting and take on a trade as a mechanic. However, Claude Monet was appointed as his guardian and he encouraged Paulémile to pursue his love of painting and became his instructor for the next fourteen years. In 1935, H. Claude was born to Paulémile and Yvonne Beaupel, and was to become the third generation link to this famous legacy.
H. Claude Pissarro gained vast knowledge from the two artistic masters in his family and his father spent many hours guiding and helping his son to develop his own style and technique. H. Claude also studied the works of the masters at the Louvre and Jeu de Paume and was greatly influenced by the Fauve artists, especially Vlaminck and Van Dongen. H. Claude balances his style within two worlds; the modern artist and the traditional impressionist, where two different centuries of ideas and styles may not necessarily coincide, but he seems to combine the two with great ease.
H. Claude paints with fluidity and dazzling light. There is clear evidence of the overlapping of delicate brushstrokes to create tender brightness, depth and movement within his paintings. Among his works are many rural scenes, harvest scenes, hay and apple gatherers, street and harbor scenes. His paintings evoke a historical richness and a reflection of his roots in the romantic era of Impressionism.