By the Eure River 1910

Gustave Loiseau’s painting presents us with a riverside scene, probably made with oil on canvas. There’s something about the way the colours are dabbed on, broken and shimmering, which suggests he was outside, working directly from nature, and trying to capture the light and atmosphere of the moment. You can almost feel the thickness of the paint. It seems he’s not trying to hide the strokes, but rather embrace the physicality of the medium. Look at the way the trees are rendered with these short, staccato marks. Each dab of colour feels like a tiny observation, a fleeting impression of light and shadow. It reminds me of those moments when you’re trying to grasp something quickly, sketching in a notebook, trying to get the essence of a thing before it disappears. Loiseau’s work has echoes of artists such as Monet and Pissarro. It also reminds us that art is an ongoing conversation, artists are always looking at and responding to each other’s work. It’s this constant exchange of ideas that keeps art alive and evolving.