Reflected Willow on the Green 1915

Henri Martin made *Reflected Willow on the Green* with oil on canvas using his pointillist style, with lots of tiny dots of paint to build up the image. I can imagine Henri standing there by the water, patiently applying each little dab, trying to capture the light filtering through the trees and reflecting on the surface of the water. He must have been thinking about how to make something solid out of something fleeting. Look at the way the cool greens and blues of the water contrast with the warm yellows and oranges of the willow, like opposing forces in a constant dance. Those vertical strokes create a sense of movement and energy, almost like the trees are breathing. It makes me think of artists like Signac and Seurat, who were also experimenting with pointillism at the time. Artists are always in dialogue, you know, borrowing and riffing off each other's ideas. Painting is a kind of conversation, a way of thinking through feeling, in public.