I was originally going to feature just one painting by Emile Claus, Zonnegloed (shown below), but I came across so many other wonderful paintings that I had to expand my scope.
Claus was a Belgian painter known for his bright colors and impressionist style. His work is similar to that of Claude Monet, though many of his paintings are a touch more finely rendered.
Below are some of my favorites and my brief observations.
Zonnegloed
This is the perfect demonstration of narrowing down on the essence of the subject and really pushing in that direction. Look at how his strokes radiate out from the sun and how he only reserved a tiny amount of space for the land at the bottom, allowing the sky to dominate.
(Fun fact: Zonnegloed means “Sun Glow” in Dutch. What a great name for a painting!)
Ampelio, Old Fisherman of Bordighera
What an interesting composition. Notice how Claus was able to capture the fisherman’s tired expression and weathered face without using fine rendering and blending. And look at all that rich color in the shadows. It reminds me of Joaquín Sorolla’s beach paintings.
The Flower Garden in May
A colorful and busy landscape. Claus did well to paint the landscape with a sense of organisation and structure without making it appear tight and overworked. In particular, notice the distinct light and dark shapes.
Children in a Landscape
This is a wonderful blend of different styles. The landscape is more impressionistic, whereas the children lean more towards realism. I won’t overanalyse; it just works.
Haystack
I mentioned earlier that Claus painted in a similar style to Monet. He also painted similar subjects. Below is Claus’s take on the humble haystack, which Monet painted a whole series on.
Landscape with Pond and Blooms
This appears to depict early morning or late afternoon, with the soft glow of the sun low on the horizon line. There’s a beautiful play between warm and cool colors, with the pale oranges and yellows of the distant trees and the cool, saturated greens in the foreground. The cows grazing on the other side of the pond are a nice touch. You’ll see cows featured in many of Claus’s paintings, often in more prominent roles.
Study for Le Bateau Qui Passe
One of Claus’s more restrained paintings. Three children stare off into the distance. A powerful image. Value contrast does all the work here, with the dark colors and hard edges of the children creating a sharp contrast against the light background.
View of Murano, Venice
I chose this one for two reasons: First, the subtle color variance and gradation of the sky. It goes from blues at the top, to blue-greens, to greens, to green-yellows, to warm grays. This is a great example of using color and brushwork to inject life and energy into a quiet subject. Second, the shimmering, broken color of the water. Notice how the blues of the water are woven in with the reflected colors of the sky and land. There’s also a sense of movement and flow with the directional brushwork.
Waterloo Bridge, London
Claus made clever use of temperature and value contrast to make the sun really “pop”. The compressed value range gives the painting a softer and more ambient feel (notice how the darks are not that dark).
Girls in the Field
This one was done in pastel. You can tell by that distinct, dry finish and the soft colors. The sharp highlights play an important role in defining the girls and adding realism. It’s interesting how the girls are slightly vague and in shadow at the front, while the surrounding landscape glows in sunlight. The girls are the focal point, yet they are somewhat understated and ambiguous.
Banks of the River Lys
I love the play between the light and dark colors with this one and how Claus wove them together. There are so many interesting patterns and shapes created by the overlapping trees and the reflections on the water. And look at how simple the sky is. Just a few strokes of blue, gray, and white and our eyes do the rest of the work.
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Thanks for Reading!
I appreciate you taking the time to read this post and I hope you found it helpful. Feel free to share it with friends.
Happy painting!
Dan Scott
Dan,
Thank you for sharing these beautiful paintings by Emile Claus. I am so appreciative of the time that you’ve taken to give your insights for each painting. Emile’s style (and yours) gives me so much to learn from as I attempt to improve my own skills.
I hope your family is doing well.
Sally
A lovely piece of encouragement so I’ll do the same as I ask a question on techniques.
I’m to ask to what extent and what colour limits he set as some of the paintings just spell out this technique. Old masters too we so familiar with it.
Wet-on-wet, or alla prima, direct painting or au premier coup, is a painting technique in which layers of wet paint are applied to previously administered layers of wet paint. Used mostly in oil paint…
Magnificent paintings! I am going to attempt to paint the Fisherman!!! Thank you for sharing ❤️
Have a great day 😁
Kathy McCulloch
wonderful! Thank you.
Wonderful paintings! Many thanks for sharing these-
Love the color and brush work for the more impressionist paintings, but also the subtlety of ‘study for Le Bateau qui Passe’
Enjoy the day!
Interesting! I see not-so-subtle hints of pointillism in much of this work… it’s fun to see how the adjacent colors work to create such depth. Thanks for sharing these!
What exquisite paintings, and I love your descriptions of each of them. I have to confess that I hadn’t heard of Emile Claus before but I am very grateful to you for introducing him to me.
I agree. He is wonderful and I don’t remember learning about him at all. Beautiful work.
I love this artist! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for sharing these beautiful paintings with us. I love Emile Claus!
Lovely use of children in those two paintings… It appears to be plein aire with a new element! I like it! Also like his style. Easy to view! Thanks for sharing these works and this artist with us Dan!
Thank you for introducing me to the beautiful art of Claus. I appreciate your artist’s eye in comments.
I like the paintings of the old fisherman, the children, and the banks of the river Lys. The others lack subjects of interest or lack contrast of colors.
Brilliant artist that I’d not heard of thanks for sharing much appreciated
Thank you so much. Enjoy your mails and suggestions. They’re so informative.
I so love this work! It got me wondering, “Oh, but it’sn’t this ….? so many artists came to mind. Thank you for your precis’ and bringing this artist to our attention. In a world full of clickbait prioritised information, it’s good to get back to something good & solid & worthy.
It’s always nice to see a True Artist’s work. We learn something from all those who pick up a brush. I find the light compelling.
Thanks for sharing.
I have an interest in Impressionist art and artists and I am wondering if you have ever done any painting in this style or considered offered a course. you provide us with so much valuable information and i very much appreciate it. Thank you for all that you do>
Dan, I am truly enjoy reading your posts/letters each every single time. From your analysis I learned & absorbed lots of valuable knowledges as well as techniques. You have introduced me various artists, without you, some of them I might will have never known never seen their master art works. For all and all I say THANK YOU 🙏
Thanks Dan for introducing me to Claus. I’m going to research him immediately.
Dan thank you for your incredible insight and ability as an artist and teacher!
I think you and Emile Claus show me a path of infinite joys as an artist and humane being!
Thank you for your unfaltering teachings and stimulus for so many artists and budding artists!
May you Chontelle and your children always thrive! Thank you soooo much for the gift of you
I appreciate you sharing these exceptional pieces. I’m unfamiliar with the work of Emille Claus.
I LOVED the old Fisherman with the red hat!!! And you’re so right, the children sitting at the riverside, one with his shoes off, is amazing. It WORKS as you said. Thanks Dan….really love seeing how other masters shine over the years. bonnie
Thanks, Dan, but for you posting this, I would not likely ever seen the artist’s work. It’s beautiful! And it inspires me to think more about my own work and what I want it to express. After all this time of enjoying and painting landscapes, it’s finally hit me that looking at a landscape ss a painting, is for me an emotional experience, something beyond the visual experience of appreciating the physical subject and the technique used to paint it. For whatever reason, this artist’s work has shown me the light, the true reason why I paint landscapes.
Thanks Dan, I appreciate you showing us all the different artists paintings that we may have never seen before, or even heard about .
Thank you for introducing me to the work of Emile Claus, his paintings are wonderful and allows us glimpse into a bygone age.
There are techniques here that vary greatly but the one that interests me is the ones -wet on wet – wiki explain thus! I’m to ask to what extent and what colour limits he set as some of the paintings just spell out this technique. Old masters too we so familiar with it.
Wet-on-wet, or alla prima, direct painting or au premier coup, is a painting technique in which layers of wet paint are applied to previously administered layers of wet paint. Used mostly in oil paint…