Mother and child in a boat by Edmond C Tarbell, 1892
A delicate, sensitive image of mother and daughter, by Artist Edmond C Tarbell, a late Impressionist painting with sensitivity and delicacy of touch we may have expected from a female artist’s perspective. A mother and young daughter are seated in a small wooden rowboat or punt. It is a sunny day and the couple are cast in light shadow from disconnected overhanging branches from unseen trees. The boat casts a shadow and its reflection with the reflection of the overhanging tree above. The woman is dressed in a white dress with pink, the child in white. The mother sits with one relaxed hand holding the child, her other hand holds the side of the boat steadying the pair. The water ripples, catching the light and casting shadows giving the water a dynamic of gentle movement from a light breeze. The unseen viewer, presumably the husband, stands on the unseen bank from a slightly higher vantage point. The image is close-cropped with disconnected branches from trees above. (the different leaf shapes suggest 2 types of trees). The real tree, top right, is echoed by its reflection, bottom right. The top corner of the boat echoes the shadow below. The main dynamic is the bold diagonal boat entering bottom left. The diagonal thrust is halted by the central, upright two figures which hold the central focus of the painting. This strong dynamic composition is a testament to the influences from the flood of Japanese woodblock prints entering Paris which created a frenzied craze for all things Japanese. Japanese prints offered new exciting perspectives, dynamic compositions, cropped images, and an emphasis on peoples’ everyday lives and activities.
The paintwork of pure colour is loose and free but not with the dash and freedom of a Renoir or Monet but with a restrained hand. The hands and faces are painted in finer strokes closer to Academy principles to capture the likeness and delicacy of the couple with Tarbell wishing to showcase his skills of realism as much as his desire for Modernism. The subject matter is a result of the growing desire to explore everyday life in Paris, warts and all, rather than the high ideals of the Academy dictates. Artists focused on the developing middle classes with their growing freedoms to pursue and enjoy leisure activities such as cafes, opera houses, dance halls, theatres, horse racing, seaside vacations, promenading, boating and picnics. I love the dancing, shimmering light reflections of the rippling water, the dappled sunlight through the tree foliage casting subtle undulations of light and shadow. I love the gorgeous muted tones of white, pink, and blue, soft and gentle, the happy, uplifting calm of contented mother and child, and the unseen figure of an imagined father completing the close family unit evocative of remembered or desired thoughts of childhood. I love its ordinariness of simple pleasures. Immerse yourself in the delights of this image and dispel anything but thoughts of joy.
LOVE ART, LOVE LIFE. Talking Art with Paul Woods
