The Yarra, Heidelberg

Two small figures wade through the shallow waters of the Yarra River, their bodies pale against the muddy bank on what feels like a warm and drowsy afternoon. Charles Conder painted this scene in 1890, when he was part of the Heidelberg School, a circle of Australian artists who set up their easels outdoors in the countryside around Melbourne. Rather than copying the grand mountains and castles favored in European art schools, they turned their attention to the local bush, with its soft light, rolling hills, and dusty summer haze. The result is something honest and unmistakably Australian.

Conder was more interested in capturing a passing mood than in painting every leaf and pebble. His brushwork stays loose and easy, and the muted greens, browns, and blues give the whole picture a dreamy, faded softness. The Heidelberg painters were often nicknamed the Australian Impressionists because, like their French cousins, they cared most about light and atmosphere. Conder was still a young man when he made this, and he would soon head off to Europe to build his career there. What lingers is that gentle sense of a lazy day spent by the water, a feeling most of us have known at one time or another.