Around Boston: Impressionists on the Water
Looking for an activity to add some life to winter? Take in “Impressionists on the Water” at the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem. Hurry, the exhibit ends February 17.
This great exhibit adds a layer of depth to a well-known subject by exploring the experiences of the artists on the water, and with boats. In the 1870s, French painters spent their summers on studio boats (Monet above) where they painted river scenes at various times of day at different locations on the rivers leading to Paris. It was a seasonal community.
The exhibit at PEM has a very clever full-scale model of a studio boat that is a highlight of the exhibit. You can sit in the “boat” and imagine a summer day drifting down the Seine river, watching the scene change in front of you as an artist’s canvas captures the mystery and beauty.
Of course, the paintings by Monet, Manet, Pissaro, Caillebotte, John Singer Sargent, and Toulouse-Lautrec are the dazzling stars of the show.