View of the Côte des Gratte-Coqs, Pontoise

The hills around l'Hermitage all had names, and Pissarro worked through them almost like a series: the Côte du Jallais, the Côte des Bœufs, and here the Côte des Gratte-Coqs. This is one slope just outside Pontoise, seen in 1875, its pale-walled houses and red-tiled roofs scattered up a green hillside. He rarely went looking for dramatic scenery. He stayed within walking distance of home and studied the same stretch of country from every side and in every light, so a modest hill like this one turns up again and again across his work. A dirt track climbs between young trees, leading the eye up toward the small cluster of houses near the top.