Historical profile for an auction catalogue - Assignment Example

Impressionism is the name given to a style of painting in France at the end of the 19th century. The Impressionists were not a formal artistic group as such, more a collective of artists seeking recognition for their innovative techniques and approach to using colour in art.1 The painting depicts four poplar trees standing tall on the banks of the river. Their shadow is seen in the water below. The entire painting has several hues of colours and a vivid use of light is also seen. It is said that Monet preferred to paint this painting from the middle of the river rather than sitting on one bank and painting what is seen on the other side.

Monet made the trees slender and allowed them to reach to the end of the canvas. We do not see the top of the trees in the painting. It is because of the impressionist style to paint the moment capturing it as it is. One must appreciate that impressionist painting catch the movement of the moment. The use of brush strokes is small and unfinished in impressionist paintings. In this painting as well we see small strokes of brush creating the bushy impact of the river bank. The slenderness of the tree barks seems exaggerated.

The best brush strokes however are the leaves of the trees. Irrespective of the hue blue background the leaves stand out in colour. Poplar trees are tall and slender. Only the bank of the river painted with the grass and bushes separates the reflection of the trees from the trees themselves. The small and unfinished brush strokes also give dense appearance to the grass on the bank and the leaves of the trees. The brush has effectively captured the movement of wind which is seen in the reflection of the trees in water.

The simple strokes have created the movement of refection due to wind on water. This movement of wind is the perfect example of impressionist style of painting. Impressionist paintings capture the movement of nature, people etc. Even in the still paintings one can see the effects of