The Rainbow’s Source

This painting is one of many that John Henry Twachtman painted of Horseneck Falls, the waterfall on his property in Greenwich, Connecticut. Twachtman nearly fills the canvas with the image of the waterfall tumbling into the streambed below. The rough texture of the paint vividly captures the movement and misty spray of the water, and the artist was able to create the impression of a vaporous atmosphere that could at any moment reveal a brilliant rainbow. Twachtman used the Impressionist technique of combining multiple brushstrokes of varying color to produce transient, shimmering light effects. He repeatedly painted this waterfall and other subjects on his property, exploring various light and weather conditions.