The Raised Terrace of the Pont Neuf, Place Henri IV, Afternoon, Rain 1902

Camille Pissarro made this painting of the Pont Neuf in the afternoon rain using oil on canvas. I love the way he's built the scene with these tiny, individual brushstrokes, it’s like he's trying to capture not just what he sees, but how he sees it – the actual process of looking. There's a real materiality to this piece; you can almost feel the dampness in the air. The colors are muted – grays, blues, and browns – but they create this incredible sense of atmosphere. Look at the way the rain blurs the edges of everything, especially in the reflections on the wet pavement. Notice how each little dab of paint shimmers with light? That kind of mark making is also about duration, and the slowness of looking. Pissarro reminds me of Morandi, who used repetition to achieve a similar kind of stillness. For both of them, painting is a kind of meditation. It’s not just about representing the world, but about understanding it, one brushstroke at a time.