Fountain in the Park Marquayro 1905

Henri Martin, sometime between the late 19th and early 20th century, most likely used oils to conjure this scene. Look at the surface, flecked with dashes of greens, pinks, and blues that coalesce into a fountain, a garden, a villa in the distance. You can almost feel the warmth of the sun and the soft, still air. I wonder, what was it like to stand where Martin stood? I bet he set up his easel right there in the garden, trying to capture the feeling, the mood of the place rather than a photo-realist copy. It makes me think about the Pointillists like Seurat, how they also built up images from tiny dots of color. See how he dabs the paint to create texture? Those rhythmic strokes and contrasting colors seem to vibrate and shimmer with light, communicating so much about this space. It’s a technique that allows for a certain looseness, an ambiguity, which I appreciate. Like all artists, Martin was definitely in conversation with those who came before him, adding his voice to the ongoing, wonderful mess of painting!