Artwork of the Week: December 30
In Giverny- Trees, Wind, and Snow Theodore Earl Butler renders an exciting scene that details the ever-evolving winter landscape. This view was painted in Giverny, a small town northwest of Paris that American Impressionists like Butler often frequented. It was also the hometown of famed French artist Claude Monet, whom Butler quickly befriended after he arrived in 1888. A few years later, Butler married Monet’s stepdaughter Suzanne Hoschede-Monet and settled in Giverny permanently. This work was painted one year after the wedding and highlights the pronounced artistic influence that his father-law had on his work. Much like Monet, Butler’s work often consists of loosely painted domestic scenes and landscapes.
This composition prominently features a surprising array of deep blues and off-whites. Butler defies conventional tones to capture a more whimsical color arrangement, with the evergreen trees in the middle ground rendered almost entirely in blue. This cool palette indicates how winter’s light may change the quality of natural coloring. His brushwork is quick and diagonal, creating an energetic mood despite the seemingly quiet and still snow. Butler’s use of movement indicates a frigid scene with gusts that waft through tree boughs and beyond the edge of the canvas.
