The artwork entitled “The Saint Sever Bridge at Rouen, Fog” was created by the artist Camille Pissarro in the year 1896. It is an oil on canvas and is a part of the Impressionist art movement. The piece measures 60 by 81 centimeters and falls within the genre of cityscape.
In this artwork, Pissarro captures a bustling river scene shrouded in fog, which softens the outlines of the city of Rouen and the Saint Sever Bridge. The bridge itself is depicted as a series of dark, bold strokes, demarcating it from the lighter haze of the fog. Industrial chimneys rise into the sky, mingling their smoke with the mist and creating a layered effect of obscurity and atmospheric depth. The Seine is rendered with quick, impressionistic brushstrokes that reflect light, lending a dynamic texture to the water’s surface.
The river is busy with boats: a larger vessel with sails down is moored near the foreground to the right, while a smaller boat with a solitary figure is prominently positioned in the lower center, seemingly cutting through the rippled reflections. Figures on the bridge and docks are seen going about their daily activities, albeit rendered in such a loose style that their actions are implied rather than detailed. Pissarro’s utilization of color and light implies the time of day and conveys the chilliness of the air amid the industrial environment. The artwork is a testament to the Impressionists’ fascination with light, atmosphere, and the rapidly modernizing urban landscape of the late 19th century.
