Camille Pissarro (1830-1903)

Jean Cailac, in his revised edition of Delteil's catalogue raisonné, identified three separate printings of this plate; two impressions in 1876, six èpreuves d'essai in 1921 and six stamped and numbered impressions in 1923. It is clear that the drypoint wore extremely quickly. The present impression is considerably darker and more tonal than the (unidentified) impression illustrated in Delteil, yet slightly less rich than the one in the Kunsthalle Bremen. Exactly when and if the cleaning and presumably burnishing referred to in the inscription took place is not clear. However, it would seem safe to assume that the present impression is probably one of the few lifetime impressions, before any work carried out in 1921 or 1923.