Artists have time and time again captured water, one of nature’s greatest scenic views. Countless styles have been employed, from surrealism to abstraction to classicism, done in media from paint to collage to stone. There are many points of view from which to compose a depiction, as water is always changing. Maybe this is what has fueled the need to use waterscapes as a subject matter continually throughout the history of art.

The piece above by Charles-François Daubigny, part of the museum’s Gifts & Purchases Collection and gifted by Harold Hartshorne, Jr., is no exception. Daubigny was a French painter who was part of the Barbizon school, which is considered an important precursor to impressionism. Black Rocks, Coast of Normandy will be part of a new exhibit at the Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum. The exhibit, entitled The Scape of Water, will consist of works from the Museum Permanent Collection. The pieces will include a diverse array of media, all of which portray water. Featuring a variety of perspectives, from aerial to linear to atmospheric and beyond, water is explored. The viewer is invited to gaze at this meditative and serene collection. The exhibit welcomes you to ponder the endless urge to visually portray a life force that sustains mankind, while at the same time intriguing him. The exhibit opened in early January and will be on display through April 28.