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| Artist | Pissarro, Lucien (French painter, printmaker, and typographical designer, 1863-1944, active in England) |
| Title | The Turkeys |
| Alternative/previous titles | Esther in the Garden, Evagny |
| Original title | Les Dindons |
| Date | 1893 (dated) |
| Material | oil on canvas |
| Measurements | 55.2 x 45.7 cm |
| Inscription | front lr 'Lucien Pissarro 1893' |
| Description | Lucien Pissarro depicted his young wife, Esther, sitting in the shade of a tree in the garden of their home. The recreation of the dappled light shows the artist's interest in Impressionist techniques. In fact, Lucien Pissarro was taught by his father, Camille, who is sometimes described as the father of the Impressionist movement. The way he has applied the paint also shows his engagement with Seurat's theory of the optical mixing of colour: each brush-stroke is a distinct colour, and the colours are 'mixed' in the viewer's eye rather than on the palette, creating a more vibrant effect. |
| Subject | animal (turkey); figure; everyday life; portrait (Bensusan, Esther) |
| Collection | Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery |
| Current accession number | K4126 |
| Acquisition details | Given by Mrs A. M. T. Barrett 1972. |
| Provenance | By descent from the artist to Orovida Pissarro, 1944[?]-49. |
| Principal exhibitions | Leicester Galleries, London, 1934, cat. no. 40; Art Exhibitions Bureau, 1935-36, cat. no. 2; Art School, Yeovil, 1941; NEAC, London, 1943, cat no. 134. |
| Principal publications | Thorold, A. A Catalogue of the Oil Paintings of Lucien Pissarro, London, 1983, cat. no. 64, ill. as Esther in the Garden, Evagny. |
| Notes |
Inscribed in ink on stretcher: 'les Dindons'; inscribed on back of canvas: 'Eragny'. |
| Rights status | Bristol's Museums, Galleries & Archives |
| Author | Dr Susan Steer |
