Poplars by the Eau River 1903

Gustave Loiseau created this painting of poplars by the Eau River using oil on canvas. Look how the trees on the bank of the river are made up of short, choppy marks, like a field of textured brushstrokes. The palette here is muted, with a limited range of greens, blues, and yellows. But the paint itself is applied with a lot of physicality. It's not about hiding the process, it's about embracing it. You can almost feel the rhythm of his hand as he worked. See that spot where the trees meet their reflections in the river? It's like the artist made a conscious decision to blur the boundary between the real and the reflected, leaving it open to interpretation. Loiseau was part of the post-impressionist movement, and I see echoes of artists like Monet in this piece. But there's also something distinct in the way he simplifies and abstracts the landscape. It reminds us that art is not just about seeing, it’s about feeling and thinking too.