Edward Bruce - A Tuscan Farm [c.1926-29]

Edward Bruce - A Tuscan Farm [c.1926-29], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

Edward Bruce (Dover Plains, New York, 1879 - Hollywood, Florida, 1943) was an American painter.

[Oil on wood, 49.2 x 82.5 cm]

Philippe Rouseau - A Valley [c.1860]

Philippe Rouseau - A Valley [c.1860], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

Rousseau (1816-1887) is best known as a still life painter, but his earliest submissions to the Salon were all landscapes. This picture was probably based on direct observation of an actual landscape, but the site has not been identified.

[Oil on canvas, 81 x 99.7 cm]

Odilon Redon - Ophelia Among The Flowers [c.1905-08]

Odilon Redon - Ophelia Among The Flowers [c.1905-08], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

This pastel is one of several compositions by Redon (1840-1916) of this subject from Shakespeare's Hamlet which date from this period. The flowers seem to be of no identifiable species, resembling lilac and strawberries, and with blue leaves interspersed with the green. The garlanded head of Ophelia is turned towards the flowers as though in contemplation of their beauty. The tropical still lifes of Gauguin may have influenced Redon in the design of this work.

[Pastel on paper, 64 x 91 cm]

John Henry Twachtman - On the Terrace [c.1890-1900]

John Henry Twachtman - On the Terrace [c.1890-1900], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

John Henry Twachtman (Cincinnati, Ohio, 1853 - Gloucester, Massachusetts, 1902) settled in Greenwich, Connecticut, in 1889 and painted many images of his farm property. This springtime scene shows his wife, Martha, and their children on a terrace bordered by flowers and bathed in soft light. Martha rocks her newborn son while daughters Marjorie and Elsie play quietly by her side. Twachtman wanted the figures in his paintings to appear casual, and here the intimate group evokes a snapshot of family life rather than a formally posed portrait. The crisp white dresses echo the white flowers along the pathway and create an aura of innocence and purity around the young children and their mother.

[Oil on canvas, 64.1 x 76.5 cm]

Claude-Oscar Monet - Flood Waters [1896]

Claude-Oscar Monet - Flood Waters [1896], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

The subject is said to be the flood waters of the River Epte, a tributary of the Seine which passes through Giverny, where Monet lived in later life. The river is known to have flooded in the autumn of 1896. The painting is unsigned, and may have been a study for a similar picture dated 1896 (private collection, Switzerland).

[Oil on canvas, 71 x 91.5 cm]

Alfred Sisley - Flood at Port-Marly [1872]

Alfred Sisley - Flood at Port-Marly [1872], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

Flooding early in the spring of 1872 drew Sisley to Port-Marly, a village on the Seine near Louveciennes, the artist's home. The water here is calm and human activity is minimal. Rather than dramatic or picturesque incident, the artist's attention was engaged by purely visual effects of rain-laden clouds and water-covered streets. The tranquility of the painting and the directness and simplicity of Sisley's observation are qualities derived from Corot, whom Sisley had met in the 1860s.

The composition is traditional. The Restaurant à Saint Nicolas at the left and the erect pylon on the right and its reflection establish a stable foreground and frame an opening at the center toward a stand of trees and distant hillside. The artist's handling, however, distinguishes Flood at Port-Marly as an impressionist work. Painted quickly on the scene, probably in a single session, Sisley used muted tones of a wide spectrum of hues, applying them in a thin layer of supple brushstrokes which Sisley varied in response to individual components of the landscape. The distinctive nuanced tonality and animated surface of this painting are hallmarks of the best of Sisley's mature work.

[Oil on canvas, 46.4 x 61 cm]

Fernand Piet - Market in Brest [c.1899]

Fernand Piet - Market in Brest [c.1899], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

Fernand Piet (1869 – 1942) was a French painter.

[Oil on canvas, 64.7 x 80 cm]