Description
Henry Lerolle's painting By the Riverside is an impressive work that captures the viewer's attention from the very first moment. With an original size of 471 x 300 cm, it is a piece that stands out for its magnitude and the complexity of its composition.
The artistic style used by Lerolle in this work is impressionism, characterized by the representation of light and color in nature. The artist manages to masterfully capture the atmosphere of the place, with a palette of soft and bright colors that evoke the tranquility and serenity of the landscape.
The composition of the painting is another interesting aspect to highlight. Lerolle uses a diagonal perspective that takes the viewer's gaze from the foreground, where a group of people are sitting on the river bank, to the background, where a bridge and an urban landscape can be seen. This composition technique allows to give depth and realism to the work.
As for the history of the painting, it was created in 1880 and is currently in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. It was a work that was very well received by critics and the public at the time, and became one of the most representative works of French Impressionism.
A little known aspect of this work is that Lerolle included his wife and children as models in it. This allowed him to create a more intimate and personal scene, which is reflected in the feeling of harmony and tranquility that the painting conveys.
In short, Henry Lerolle's painting By the Riverside is an impressive work that stands out for its artistic style, its composition, its color palette, and its history. It is a piece that invites contemplation and reflection, and which continues to be one of the most representative works of French Impressionism.