The Garden Umbrella

"The Garden Umbrella" looks like a French Impressionism painting when you first lay your eyes on it. However, Frederick Carl Frieseke was an American artist that lived in France during the French Impressionist movement. His work mainly focused on dappled sunlight, female subjects, and gardens, all of which are subjects shown in "The Garden Umbrella."

"I never compose a picture before Nature, but I paint what I see that is interesting, and which appeals to me at that moment. I put down whatever I see before me. I avoid being conventional as much as possible, for most picture making is conventional. I never change the drawing of a tree, or leave out a bed of flowers. I may not see them, if they do not add to the beauty of the whole," said Frieseke.

This painting was created by Frieseke to conjure the peacefulness he and his wife Sadie found spending their summers in the French countryside. The setting is the garden at the Frieseke’s house in Giverny, France, which was located very close to the home and gardens of the esteemed impressionist painter Claude Monet.