The River Epte, Giverny

In the 1880s, the American painter John Leslie Breck enrolled at the Académie Julian in Paris. In the summer of 1887, he joined a small group of artists including Theodore Wendel, Louis Ritter, and Willard Metcalf, and discovered Giverny. When the village of Giverny became a flourishing colony of artists, from 1885 to 1915, Breck was one of the rare few to have the privilege of rubbing shoulders with Claude Monet. According to the obituary in the Boston Sunday Globe, Monet had said: "Come and spend a few months with me in Giverny; I won't give you any lessons, but we will walk in the woods and fields and paint together."The artist went on to paint Claude Monet's garden (Jardin à Giverny (Dans le jardin de Monet), around 1887–1891, Chicago, Terra Foundation for American Art, inv. 1988.22). He stayed in Giverny intermittently until 1891, and today is considered to be one of the leading figures of American Impressionism.
The River Epte, Giverny dates from his first stay. Breck, who was beginning to paint outdoors, favored the landscapes in the immediate vicinity of Giverny. This led him to adopt the Impressionist style with a preference for studies of the river seen through the undergrowth and the reflections on its water. The composition and the harmonious use of the dark green tones in this painting are indications of the painter's academic training. However, Breck chose to use quick brush strokes and a cropped framing that give the work a distinctly modern appearance.

Valérie Reis