Right Fist Holding Folded Cloth

Lured by the tranquil waters of river-scapes, Charles-François Daubigny began to explore the river valleys outside Paris in the late 1850s from Le Botin, his floating studio. An heir to the open-air sketching tradition and an important precursor for the Impressionists, Daubigny recorded the subtle interplay of light, water, and atmosphere as the day progressed.

In this image, Daubigny blends the pink hues of the waning sunset with the lavender and silver tones of the moonrise. While the painter reserves a delicacy of touch for the waterbirds and river grasses, he uses broader, more gestural brushwork for the changing sky.