Crozant, Le Ravin De La Sedelle À La Folie c. 1910

Armand Guillaumin made this painting of Crozant, Le Ravin De La Sedelle À La Folie using thick strokes of paint, mostly greens and yellows. Imagine him working en plein air, maybe swatting away some bugs, trying to capture the light as it skips across the landscape. I see Guillaumin layering the paint, building up the scene from dark to light, which is so interesting, right? The way those little yellow dashes dance on the hillside, you can almost feel the warmth of the sun. The painting is so physical, almost like you could reach out and touch the roughness of the foliage or the smoothness of the sky. I love the conversation he’s having with artists like Monet and Pissarro, but with his own distinct voice. It reminds me how painting isn’t just about seeing, it’s about feeling, about embodying a moment in time, about the ongoing conversations painters have with each other across the ages.