1879

Rain Effect

Camille Pissarro

French, 1830 - 1903

Pissarro was one of a number of Impressionist painter-printmakers who were fascinated with Japanese prints, many of which depicted landscape views from various perspectives at different times of day or in different seasons. Perhaps inspired by such examples, he added diagonal streaks across the plate in the sixth state of Rain Effect, transforming the hazy view of a hayfield into a rainy one.

Pissarro created the misty forms of the haystack and distant trees in this image using spit-bite. In this method acid is mixed with a viscous substance (such as saliva) and selectively applied over the aquatint, etching the tone more deeply to produce darker, diffuse shapes when printed.