Banks of the Seine at Argenteuil

Along the Seine at Argenteuil, a town just outside Paris where Parisians came to sail and unwind, Edouard Manet captured this sunny riverside moment in the summer of 1874. A woman in a long pale dress stands at the water's edge with a child beside her, both gazing out at the sailboats moored on the shimmering blue water. The quick, loose brushstrokes and dancing reflections show Manet working in a brighter, freer way than usual, clearly enjoying the fresh air and light of an outdoor scene.

This particular summer marked a turning point for him. Manet had been spending time with Claude Monet, who lived in Argenteuil, and the younger artist's Impressionist style rubbed off in a big way. The broken dabs of color and the attention to sunlight over sharp detail all point to that influence. What is curious is that Manet never actually joined the Impressionists or showed his work in their exhibitions, yet paintings like this prove he was happy to borrow their ideas. The result is a warm, easygoing picture of a leisurely afternoon by the river, exactly the kind of everyday pleasure the Impressionists loved.