Arques-la-Bataille
John Henry Twachtman American
During the summer of 1884, Twachtman—then studying at the Académie Julian, in Paris—rented a house with his family at Arques-la-Bataille, in Normandy, and focused on capturing the quiet beauty of the area on canvas. In this work, he portrayed the edge of the Béthune, a tributary of the Arques, bordered by a fringe of reeds and meadow flowers. Back in his Paris studio the following winter, Twachtman transposed this naturalistic sketch into the monumental canvas Arques-la-Bataille, on view nearby.