“Impressionists by the Sea” is an exhibition at The Phillip's Collection here in D.C. that focuses on assembling paintings created from 1860 to 1890 by leading artists of the Impressionist movement of subjects in and around the environs of Le Harve, France. The content of the show really speaks to two subjects: 1) the antecedent works of seascapes in the region and across Europe, and 2) the paintings of the super-stars of Impressionism depicting the Brittany coast’s beaches and towns from Villers in the west to Les Petites Dalles in the east.
The early works failed to inspire me, let alone interest me; However, the actual paintings from the Impressionist school did. I found several Monet's very interesting for their unfamiliar subjects: The image here included is a case in point. And one image entitled “Etretat, Rough Sea” was so an atypical Monet, that I swear it could have been a Van Gogh. And there were paintings by Renoir that were also interesting, and in particular “Low Tide, Yport” which read like a seascape on acid! But my favorite image was by Caillebotte.
“Villers-sur-Mer” is a landscape painting depicting the village from above looking down on the sea. It is an astute rendering of a rather common image. And as a Caillebotte, it's a tight, well-executed composition...which is to say that not all of his paintings can claim this.
The show ends on Sunday and then moves on to the Wadsworth Athenaeum in Worcester, Massachusetts for it's third and final venue. If you missed it here, by all means, plan to experience it in Worcester.
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