The Little Factory, 1863-65
Of course, if we begin by examining Pissarro's earliest factory paintings, from the 1860s and early 1870s, before his political principles were firmly in place, we see that they do not glorify industry as his later ones do. This happens because of the placement of the factories in the painting. Viewers see them only at a distance. They occupy positions in the backgrounds of the paintings, which always feature something else as the main focus of attention. In The Small Factory, for example, painted from 1863 to 1865, Pissarro gives the building nothing noteworthy to make it stand out as either positive or negative. Indeed, the factory in the title is arguably not even the focus of the painting, as it includes in the foreground depictions of two pairs of human figures. In the background, with the little factory, Pissarro includes a house which is nearly as big, drawing nearly as much attention. Without the tall chimney (which doesn't even smoke), it would be impossible to tell whether the painting was depicting a factory or a white house in the country. In fact, it is surprising that the title of the painting is The Small Factory. By titling the painting so, and then all but dismissing the factory in the picture, Pissarro emphasizes his apparent indiffence toward its existence. He does nothing to distinguish the building, nothing to draw attention to it, and in doing so gives his viewers a painting devoid of social commentary on the matter of industrialization, whether positive or negative.