Sand Springs Butte 1904

Childe Hassam made "Sand Springs Butte" with paint, and it's all about how he put it on the canvas. Look at how the strokes of color build up, like he's constructing the scene bit by bit. It feels like the painting is less about a mountain and more about the act of painting a mountain. Up close, you can almost feel the rough texture of the paint. Thick dabs of ochre and green make up the field, while the mountain rises with strokes of brown and gray. Notice that one spot on the mountain's peak, where he used a lighter color to catch the sun, it's like a little burst of energy. Hassam reminds me of Monet; they both explore how light and color can transform a scene. But while Monet might dissolve forms into hazy impressions, Hassam keeps a stronger sense of structure. It's a reminder that art isn't about capturing one fixed idea, but about the ongoing conversation between the artist, the subject, and the paint itself.