The artwork titled “The Roofs of Old Rouen, Grey Weather” was created by the artist Camille Pissarro in 1896. An exemplar of the Impressionist movement, the piece is an oil painting on canvas measuring 72.3 x 91.4 cm. This cityscape portrays a dense clustering of buildings within the historic French city of Rouen. Pissarro’s work currently resides within the collection of the Toledo Museum of Art, located in Toledo, Ohio, United States.
The artwork depicts a panoramic view of Rouen dominated by the tall, imposing silhouettes of the city’s gothic cathedral and its associated tower. The perspective from above allows a sweeping gaze over the dense jumble of rooftops, each rendered with quick, thick strokes of color that capture the textural essence of the materials and the atmospheric mood dictated by the overcast sky. The colors predominantly feature muted tones, with hints of red on the rooftops that add warmth to the otherwise cool palette. The cathedral, emerging above the sea of houses, becomes the visual anchor of the composition. Pissarro’s technique creates a sense of vitality and spontaneity, hallmarks of the Impressionist style, imparting the feeling of a fleeting, overcast day where light and shadow play across the urban landscape. This artwork exudes the ambiance of Rouen during this period, encapsulating a moment in time through Pissarro’s masterful application of Impressionist principles.
