Palazzo da Mula, Venice 1908

Claude Monet painted this vision of the Palazzo da Mula in Venice, in 1908, with oil on canvas. The way he builds up the image out of dabs of colour, it’s all about process; about how a painting comes into being, rather than trying to capture a definitive image. Look at the water; Monet’s short, broken brushstrokes create a shimmering effect, so the water looks alive, always moving. It's the same on the building, where patches of pink and yellow flicker beneath the dominant blues and greens. This method emphasizes the physicality of paint: you can almost feel the texture of each stroke. And isn't that the fun of painting, this pushing around of viscous stuff, trying to make it cohere into a picture? You could say that he was influenced by artists like Turner, who also sought to capture the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere, but Monet makes it his own. He reminds us that art is a conversation, an ongoing exploration, where nothing is ever really finished.