Church by the River 1921

Henri Martin made this painting, Church by the River, with oil on canvas, using these really interesting pointillist marks. It's like he's building the image from tiny dots of color, which is all about process, about how the painting comes together bit by bit. Look at the river, see how each little dab of blue and white and green creates this shimmering effect? It's not just about depicting water; it's about the physical experience of seeing light reflected, the texture of the surface. There’s this really cool contrast where the thick strokes in the water hit the delicate touches of color in the sky. And the church? It's so solid, yet made of the same flickering strokes. For me, it recalls the way Seurat, with his Bathers at Asnières, built up these massive scenes from tiny gestures. The overall effect embraces ambiguity. It's like Martin is suggesting that our experience of a place is always fragmented, always in process.