Camille Pissarro (1830-1903). French Impressionist painter. He was obsessed with light and its effects and painted the same subject several times to examine the effect of time of day and season. This interest probably also led him to only paint landscapes and cities – there, he could take full advantage of natural light. As an impressionist, he used vivid and bright colours. Among painters, he was popular for his communicative nature – he did not hesitate to share his experiences and was not resistant to accepting new ideas from others. His work helped develop the impressionist theory and inspired other great painters of his time, like Cézanne, Matisse, or Gauguin. He also devoted himself to pointillism (see Seurat).