Heuvels aan de kust 

Editor: We’re looking at "Heuvels aan de kust," or "Hills on the Coast," by Lucien Pissarro. It's a small print – an etching in pencil, I think. It has a very dreamlike quality. The coast looks very soft, but also sort of melancholy. What stands out to you when you look at it? Curator: Ah, Pissarro, ever the observer. This isn't just a landscape, it's a feeling. The pencil, almost dissolving into the paper... it reminds me of trying to grasp a memory just as it fades. Have you ever sat by the sea, lost in thought, watching the horizon blur? He’s captured that fleeting, almost ethereal quality, wouldn't you agree? The soft pencil strokes are evocative. I wonder, does it call to mind anything for you in terms of the historical moment? Editor: I guess so, but, it seems more personal than historical, you know? Like he’s just trying to capture what’s in front of him in the moment, which, I suppose could be an Impressionist ideal... Curator: Precisely. The “moment” is everything! And the Impressionists did try to portray that immediacy. But there's also his heritage here. Camille Pissarro, Lucien's father, a great Impressionist master in his own right, always urged his children to seek their own voices, their own way of seeing. Maybe Lucien is finding his. This piece could be more about an internal journey, of perception itself... But is it possible the student surpasses the teacher here? Editor: I'm not sure about that, but I definitely get the feeling he's striving for something more here... a unique feeling or sensation. I think I see what you mean about memory now. Curator: It's a whisper, not a shout, isn’t it? The art of feeling. I guess we need to embrace these subtle masterpieces because you never know what influence that fleeting "moment" might be having on you. Editor: Thanks! I’ll look at his work with different eyes now. I had a hard time approaching his work. But this was really helpful, thanks.