Gelée blanche à Eragny 1902

This painting of a landscape was made with oil by Camille Pissarro in 1902. Can you imagine standing there next to Pissarro as he makes it? He’s layering colors, letting them mix optically instead of on the palette. Up close, you see strokes of greens, browns, yellows, and blues that all come together. I feel like he’s inviting us to experience a particular moment in time, that first frost perhaps? There’s an immediacy here, like he’s trying to capture the ephemeral effects of light and atmosphere. I can feel the chill in the air, the way the light filters through the bare branches. The paint is applied thinly in some areas and more thickly in others, giving the surface a lively, textured quality. His short, broken brushstrokes create a sense of movement. Pissarro was interested in showing the changing qualities of light, something other Impressionists like Monet were also exploring. Ultimately, painting is about seeing and showing someone else what you see.