Study of Water and Plants

A close observation of water flowing over rocks and aquatic plants, rendered with the directness of en plein air study. Fearnley, a Norwegian Romantic painter trained by his compatriot Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, traveled extensively through Europe and produced landscapes of remarkable freshness and spontaneity. This small oil sketch, painted on paper and later mounted on wood, captures the shifting play of light on moving water with a immediacy that anticipates Impressionism by several decades.