Richmond Bridge 1935

Curator: Ah, yes, "Richmond Bridge," painted by Lucien Pissarro in 1935 using tempera and oil paint. It shimmers, doesn't it? Editor: It really does! There's something about the muted colours that creates a calm, almost wistful mood. All those thin tree trunks make it seem quite ethereal and delicate. What catches your eye when you look at this painting? Curator: I'm immediately drawn to the layering, the way Pissarro uses the trees to almost curtain the bridge, giving us only glimpses. Do you get a sense of a particular time of year? Is it maybe a memory, a feeling? Those early Impressionists were more interested in showing feelings! I can almost smell the damp earth. Editor: Yes, the bare branches do suggest either late autumn or early spring. I also noticed that the bridge isn’t perfectly defined; it's as if he's capturing a fleeting moment rather than an architectural study. Did Pissarro often work *en plein air*, from real life I mean? Curator: Exactly! "En plein air" was practically a religion for him and his father, Camille. Imagine him, easel perched, trying to catch the light as it dances on the water. His paintings show so much skill to capture such quick glimpses of landscape using many, soft strokes. This bridge wasn't simply a bridge; it was a whisper of a moment held in time. Editor: It's interesting how you connect his process to the finished work. It does make me see it differently, thinking of him standing there painting this on the spot. Curator: Seeing art as something more than the finished product opens so many more doors! The magic is there – but finding it takes a little imaginative effort from each one of us.