Across the River

Charles Rosen finished this peaceful river view in 1910, and it draws your eye straight across the still water to a line of hazy blue hills far away. Thin trees rise up close to us, their branches speckled with touches of green and gold. The colors stay soft and muted throughout, and the edges between water, ground, and sky seem to melt together in a gentle haze. Nothing much is happening here, and that seems to be the point, just an ordinary afternoon held quietly in place.

Rosen belonged to the New Hope art colony in Pennsylvania, where a circle of American painters became devoted to the scenery along the Delaware River. During these early years he worked in a dreamy, Impressionist manner, loving soft brushwork and a delicate treatment of light. That approach did not last forever, since he later swapped it for bolder shapes and firmer structure, which makes a picture like this one a window into the tender, poetic phase of his career before that change took hold.

Given a little patience, the painting offers a small reward. It never demands your attention, but linger a while and the cool riverside air and the hush of a calm day begin to settle in.