Bathers Seated on the Banks of a River 1901

Camille Pissarro painted these bathers seated on the banks of a river with oil on canvas. Looking at this painting, I imagine Pissarro working outdoors, capturing the fleeting light and the sense of the women's presence. The brushstrokes are soft and broken, like gentle touches, with a light palette of greens, blues, and pinks. You know, he may have been trying to find a balance between the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere and the enduring presence of the human figure, and how one affects the other. I notice how the figures blend into the landscape, like they are dissolving into the riverbank. That little touch of red on the figure to the left seems to speak to the artist’s enduring interest in, and knowledge of, color theory. How that one dab of warmth can set alight the coolness surrounding it. It’s a little like the conversation painters have with one another across time. We’re always looking at each other's work, building on what’s come before. Painting’s a way of thinking, a form of expression that's always open to new interpretations.