Landscape, Antibes (The Bay of Nice)

Painted in 1890, this sunlit scene comes from the Australian artist John Russell, who spent much of his life soaking up the colors and warmth of the French coast. Here he captures the bay near Antibes, with the blue water stretching out toward the soft, hazy mountains in the distance. The foreground bursts with golden grasses and rounded green trees, while a strange pink cloud floats above the shore, adding a curious touch to the calm setting.

Russell was friends with some of the biggest names in art, including Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet, and you can see their influence in the way he builds the picture from short, lively brushstrokes and bright, broken color. He had the money to paint whatever he liked, so he chased light and atmosphere along the Mediterranean rather than worrying about selling his work. For a long time he was almost forgotten, but today he is remembered as one of Australia's most talented Impressionists, and scenes like this one show exactly why.