Portal from the Abbey Church of Saint Laurent 1901

This painting of the Abbey Church of Saint Laurent by Camille Pissarro is made up of a constellation of marks that seem to tremble on the surface. Imagine him standing there in 1901, a kind of dance between observation and feeling. What can he have been thinking as he captured the subtle gradations of light and shadow on the ancient stones? There’s a real sense of discovery here, as Pissarro uses short, broken brushstrokes to build up the image, each dab of paint contributing to the overall texture. I see the influence of his Impressionist contemporaries, like Monet, in the way he captures the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere. But, equally, there's a solidity and structure that is reminiscent of someone like Cézanne. Painting is a conversation, right? Pissarro converses with the old masters, his contemporaries, and with future generations through his work. Each stroke is an exploration, an act of seeing and feeling. It's an invitation to look at the world with fresh eyes.