Banks of the Seine at Argenteuil

Painted in 1874 at Argenteuil and now at the Courtauld Gallery, this canvas belongs to the crucial summer when Manet worked alongside Monet and Renoir at this suburban river town and briefly painted in a genuinely Impressionist manner. Monet's studio boat was moored at Argenteuil; Renoir came regularly; and under their influence Manet loosened his brushwork, worked outdoors, and adopted a lighter, more atmospheric palette. The Courtauld's collection is exceptional for Impressionism, and this Argenteuil landscape demonstrates the transformation Manet underwent in summer 1874 — a transformation he never quite completed, maintaining his preference for substantial figures over pure landscap

The paint is applied with notably freer, more Impressionist brushwork than most of Manet's work — the water rendered in flickering horizontal strokes of blue, green, and white that capture reflected light in motion. The palette is high-keyed and luminous, closer to Monet's Seine paintings than to Manet's typical tonal approach. The brushwork remains more assertive than Monet's — each stroke has a declarative quality.