Besides the opposition of different elements, Avenue de l’Opera, Place du Theatre Francais: Misty Weather also shows an increased number of people, a reference to the increased involvement of the French populace as the debate over the Dreyfus Affair became more and more heated. Witness to riots against Jews and friendships torn apart by the Affair, Pissarro must have realized the far-reaching impact of the Dreyfus Affair by the time he painted this work. At the point, the affair had split the Impressionists into Dreyfusards and anti-Dreyfusards, hastening the end of the art movement. For example, the anti-Semitic diatribes of Renoir and Degas, both anti-Dreyfusards, are well-documented. Meanwhile, Claude Monet and Mary Cassatt joined Pissarro on the Dreyfusard side (Nord 102-104). When interest in the Affair began to lag, Zola published his inflammatory letter addressed to the president of the Republic titled, "I Accuse" to stir up the public conscience. His long list of charges accused government officials, army officers, and even handwriting experts of deliberately perverting justice in the case. Zola concluded, “The act I am performing here is only a revolutionary means to hasten the explosion of truth and justice… Let them dare then, to bring me to the Court of Appeal, and let an inquiry be held in the light of day!” (Zola 128). The French government did “dare” such action and Zola was subsequently arrested on charges of libel and found guilty (Derfler 114).
Zola’s letter sparked a wave of anti-Semitism throughout France. Crowds smashed windows of Jewish shops in Nantes the day after the letter was published. Elsewhere, mobs shouted “Death to the Jews,” “Death to Zola,” and “Death to Dreyfus” in the street. Riots lasting up to six days erupted in Rouen, Bordeaux, and Marseilles. The commotion was greatest in Algeria, then part of France and about one-sixth Jewish. Jewish shops were destroyed and entire neighborhoods were set on fire. The explosion of violence resulted in several stonings and a Jew bludgeoned to death (Derfler 129). Such conflict in the streets could not have escaped unnoticed to Pissarro.
At the time of Zola’s controversial publication, Pissarro was busy painting the Place du Theatre in his series (Weber xxv), in which the high tensions manifested in his portrayal of significantly more people through his series as a hidden metaphor for the public campaigns on both sides for the Affair. When Zola was arrested for libel, Pissarro was too afraid to sign a petition to support Zola for fear of deportation since Pissarro was a Danish citizen. Even so, he followed the Dreyfus Affair with keen interest, to the point that his wife Julie complained, “Doubtless the Zola affair takes all your time, so you can’t write to me. That interests you much more than your family” (qtd. Adler 111). The tense environment may have led to Pissarro’s more covert commentary through his paintings, rather than overt participation or art in the Affair.
Pictured:
Camille Pissarro, Avenue de l’Opera, Place du Theatre Francais: Misty Weather (1898)