Album creates oil paintings that span a wide variety of subjects, including cityscapes, landscapes, and portraits of people in various settings. I am particularly drawn to the way the artist handles the texture of nature, whether it is the delicate petals of a flower or the heavy atmosphere of a rainy afternoon. In ‘Sunflowers’, a yellow and brown vase holds fifteen sunflowers against a solid yellow background. The flowers are shown in different stages of bloom and decay, with some displaying large brown centres while others have drooping yellow petals that suggest the passage of time.
‘Sunflowers’, 1888, Oil on canvas, 92.1 x 73 cm., NG3863. / Album
This focus on the physical world extends to more crowded scenes where people and animals interact within a landscape. In the work ‘A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte’, figures dressed in 19th-century clothing, including top hats and bustles, spend their time on a grassy park bank. You can see a river with sailboats in the distance while a large black dog and a small monkey on a leash occupy the foreground. The artist uses these figures to create a sense of a specific historical moment, much like the dramatic action found in ‘Liberty Leading the People’.
‘A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte’, 1884-1886. / Album
In ‘Liberty Leading the People’, a woman with a bare chest holds a tricolor flag and a musket as she leads armed men and a boy over debris. The palette here is restricted to black and white, which highlights the smoke and the distant city towers in the background. It is a very different mood from the artist’s explorations of technology and weather. In ‘Rain, Steam and Speed (The Great Western Railway)’, a dark steam locomotive with a vertical chimney moves across a bridge. The engine is surrounded by thick patches of white, yellow, and brown paint that give the impression of speed and mist. To the left, a second bridge with stone arches stands over a body of water where a small boat is visible.
‘Rain, Steam and Speed (The Great Western Railway)’, 1844. / Album
‘Liberty Leading the People’, 1830, Oil on canvas, 260 x 325 cm. Eugne Delacroix. / Album
