A February Morning, East Knoyle, Wiltshire 1918

Lucien Pissarro made this painting of a Wiltshire morning with oil paint. The surface is covered in a skin of small brushstrokes, a mosaic of mauves, greens and browns that suggest a muted landscape, still holding on to the grip of winter. You can imagine Pissarro outside, perhaps a little cold, squinting to really see the quiet beauty of the morning. It's a familiar type of scene, but what might he be thinking as he makes it? He would be thinking about his father, Camille Pissarro, and the other Impressionists, for sure, all those late nineteenth century painters trying to capture the light. I mean, it feels like he is talking to them, you know? Like, he is adding his voice to this conversation about light and color, and what it means to really see the world. It’s a painter thing. That's what we do, we all learn from each other.