Le Pont Royal et le Pavillon de Flore 1903

Camille Pissarro made this painting of the Pont Royal and the Pavillon de Flore with oil on canvas. Look at how the marks are dabbed on, almost like crumbs of color building up the scene. It’s as if the process of painting itself is right there on the surface. The physicality of the paint is really interesting. It’s not about hiding the brushstrokes or creating a smooth, illusionistic surface. Instead, you see every little stroke, every decision. Check out the water, see how those greens and grays create a shimmering effect? It feels like you could reach out and touch it. The tree in the foreground, with its delicate, almost skeletal branches, feels like a metaphor for the whole painting. It’s bare and exposed, revealing the structure underneath. Pissarro reminds me a little of Cezanne, especially in the way he breaks down the world into these little blocks of color. But where Cezanne is all about structure and form, Pissarro feels more intuitive. He’s interested in capturing a fleeting moment, a particular quality of light. Art, in the end, is an invitation to see the world in a new way.