Weeping Willow 1922

This is Claude Monet's Weeping Willow, painted with oils on canvas, we don't know exactly when, but sometime before he died in 1926. Look at these marks, these strokes, this energetic build-up of paint. Can't you just feel the brush dancing? Monet is wrestling with the weight and the fragility of this tree. It must have felt like a huge task. I can imagine him pacing back and forth, thinking and rethinking the placement of each brushstroke. See how he's used these blues and greens, mixed with darker hues, to convey the density and the shadow of the weeping willow? It's not just about what the tree looks like, but what it *feels* like to be in its presence. I love the way the light filters through the leaves, creating these shimmering, almost ghostly effects. It's as if Monet is trying to capture a fleeting moment, a memory, or perhaps a premonition. Artists, like Monet, tap into something so primal and honest, and, in turn, encourage us to look at the world with fresh eyes.