At the River's Bend (On the River II)

Lilla Cabot Perrys At the Rivers Bend (On the River II) from 1895 is an oil painting that demonstrates the American Impressionist painters synthesis of the French Impressionist techniques she absorbed during her years in Giverny with the American landscape tradition of pastoral river scenes. Perry, who was one of the first American artists to settle in Giverny and establish a close friendship with Claude Monet, developed a style that combined Monets approach to broken color and atmospheric light with the more structured compositions and tonal values of Boston painting. At the Rivers Bend depicts a river landscape seen from an elevated viewpoint that allows the viewer to appreciate the curve of the river and the reflection of sky and trees in its surface, a composition that combines the horizontal sweep of the Impressionist landscape with the vertical accents of the trees that line the riverbank. The year 1895 places this painting in the period when Perry was producing her most accomplished Impressionist work, working alongside Monet in Giverny during the summers and exhibiting in Boston and Paris during the winters. The oil on canvas medium, applied in the broken brushstrokes and chromatic richness of French Impressionism, creates a surface that vibrates with light and color while maintaining the compositional structure that distinguishes American Impressionism from its French counterpart.

Perrys paintings are significant documents of the American Impressionist movement and of the direct influence of Monet on American painting. At the Rivers Bend exemplifies the synthesis of French Impressionist technique and American compositional structure that made her work influential for the development of Impressionism in the United States.

A 1895 oil painting by Perry depicting a river landscape in the Impressionist style she developed under Monets direct influence in Giverny, combining French broken color and atmospheric light with the structured compositions of the Boston painting tradition.