Landscape with Three Trees 1886

Editor: Here we have "Landscape with Three Trees," an oil painting by Léo Gausson, created in 1886. It has this wonderfully serene and somewhat dreamy quality to it, like a memory fading at the edges. I’m particularly drawn to the way the trees seem to be dancing in the breeze. What strikes you most about this piece? Curator: Dancing, you say? I love that! It feels like stepping into a hazy summer afternoon, doesn't it? For me, it’s the brushstrokes, almost like tiny whispers of color. Notice how they don't try to perfectly capture reality. Instead, there’s this embrace of feeling, of capturing the fleeting moment. Does it remind you of anything else, in terms of its feeling, it’s painterly surface, even? Editor: Now that you mention it, the loose brushwork is similar to what I have seen of Camille Pissarro. It makes me feel calm and grounded at the same time. How did Gausson learn to create works like this? Curator: Exactly! Gausson was finding his own voice within the Impressionist movement. Many Impressionist artists embraced "plein-air" painting; they packed up their supplies and went out to capture nature directly, something revolutionary at the time. One can almost see Gausson there, swatting at gnats and battling the light as it shifts. But beneath that spontaneity, there’s a considered composition, wouldn’t you say? Look at how he balances the sturdy verticals of the trees with the sweeping horizontal of the landscape. Editor: I see what you mean. It’s not just a snapshot; there's a deliberate arrangement. I’m beginning to understand the layers in this piece a bit more. Curator: Absolutely, and it is just like this that landscape ceases to be simple and enters the domain of emotion and of pure art! Editor: Thanks for highlighting those details. I’ll definitely look at Impressionist landscapes with a fresh perspective from now on.