The Garden of Felicien Rops at Essone 1910

Theo van Rysselberghe made this painting, 'The Garden of Felicien Rops at Essone', with oil on canvas. Look at the surface, see how the paint is applied in small, distinct touches? You can almost feel him dabbing at the canvas, one color right next to another. I imagine Rysselberghe standing there, in that garden, trying to capture the way light filters through the leaves and falls on the women gathering flowers. Did he struggle to get that just right? I bet he did! I love how the colors vibrate against each other—oranges, blues, pinks—it's like he's not just painting what he sees, but also how it makes him feel. The women picking flowers, the steps, the trees, all rendered with the same pointillist technique, merging together. You can see the influence of other painters like Seurat, but Rysselberghe takes it in his own direction, creating something that is sensual and a little dreamy. It makes me want to pick up a brush and start experimenting with color and light, to see what new forms might come out.