The Orchard 1913

Maurice Prendergast gave us this watercolor, "The Orchard," and I can just imagine him outside, feeling the breeze. I love how the blues and greens wash across the surface, making the whole scene kind of dreamy. He’s captured the way light filters through the trees with these blotchy marks. It’s like he’s not just painting what he sees, but also what he feels. You can see a little house nestled behind the trees; it’s a nice anchor. The way Prendergast layers the colors, one on top of the other reminds me of Cézanne, with its slightly wonky perspective, but more decorative, even flattened out. Looking at this I can't help but wonder how much time he spent looking at Vuillard's paintings. It's like these artists were all working on their own jigsaw pieces, and when they came together, they made something bigger than any one of them could have imagined.