A Provençal Stream 1903

Henry Herbert La Thangue made this painting of a Provençal Stream, maybe en plein air, with lots of visible brushstrokes. It’s all about process, seeing how the colours are dabbed and mixed right on the canvas to give that shimmery, sunny feeling. Look at the woman, she's kneeling by the stream, filling a jug. The way the light catches her white dress, it's not just white, is it? There are blues and yellows, picking up the reflections from the water and the grass. You can almost feel the cool of the water and the heat of the sun on your skin. The paint is applied in these short, broken strokes, almost like the Impressionists, but with a bit more earthy grit. It’s not smooth, it’s got texture, it's got life. This reminds me a little of Bastien-Lepage who was also into rural scenes. Both artists were interested in showing the dignity of everyday life, but La Thangue brings his own kind of sun-drenched vision to it. It’s about a moment, a place, but it's also about the act of painting itself.