Poplars on the Banks of the River Epte, Overcast Weather 1891

This impressionist painting of "Poplars on the Banks of the River Epte, Overcast Weather" was painted by Claude Monet, a prominent figure in a period marked by significant social change and industrial advancement. Monet painted "en plein air," directly confronting nature. His canvases weren't just landscapes but explorations into how light shapes our perceptions. Monet, as part of the burgeoning bourgeoisie, had the freedom and resources to pursue art, stepping away from traditional academic constraints to capture subjective visual experience. Notice how the trees are depicted, not as rigid forms, but as fluid, almost dreamlike reflections. Monet wasn't just representing trees, he was capturing a feeling, an experience of being in nature, one that mirrored the fleeting, ever-changing modern world. Through the dissolution of form and focus on light, Monet offers us a space to meditate on our own place within the natural world and the shifting landscapes of modernity.