In 1939, Ludovic-Rodolphe Pissarro published the catalogue raisonné of the paintings, pastels and gouaches of his father Camille, with the help of the art historian Lionello Venturi. The 2005 edition of the critical catalogue of Camille Pissarro’s paintings relies on this first publication, yet the new volumes further expand the scholarship on Pissarro’s work through the addition of 213 paintings–now totaling 1,529–and of a number of newly discovered documents.

The first volume focuses on Pissarro’s biography, recounts his relationship with Paul Durand-Ruel, Pissarro’s most important dealer, and provides an updated analysis of the artist’s work. The following two volumes catalogue Pissarro’s paintings, which are presented in a chronological order, and include a bibliography as well as a list of exhibitions.