Henri Edmond CrossFrench, 1856–1910Three Swans
May one see it?
Yes, receiving visitors
Cambridge, United States
Room2100, floor 2, European and American Art, 17th–19th century
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
In the early 1890s, Cross adopted the distinctive “pointillist” style of the neo-impressionist movement, producing brilliantly colored views of the landscape along the Mediterranean in the south of France. Sketches like these, roughly painted on thin, unprimed wood, allowed him to experiment with composition and color arrangements in preparation for his canvases. Easily portable, the lightweight panels were designed to fit into standard paint boxes.
Read on
These small studies are related to finished paintings, each offering an intimate detail of what would become a much larger work. Cross’s pointillist technique can best be seen in "Seascape," in which the regularized strokes create the striated colors and reflections of the evening sky. Dappled white and blue dots delineate the interlaced trees and glittering water. Cross was enraptured with the Mediterranean light, which he described as “bathing all things in its radiance.”
[1937.9, 1937.10, 1937.11]
Harvard Art Museums
Particulars
- Accession number
- 1973.9
In the catalog
Sources
- Harvard Art Museums
- Image: Harvard Art Museums — © President and Fellows of Harvard College
