(click to enlarge)
Edward Burne-Jones
(British, 1833-1898)
Dorothy Mattersdorf, 1895
Oil on canvas
Collier produced numerous portraits and history pictures but he was best known for his so called 'problem pictures' which had open-ended psychological dramas left for viewers to interpret. In spite of Collier's protestation that 'the little tragedies of modern life' had 'perfectly plain' meanings, Trouble nevertheless remains ambiguous. A younger woman weeps to the left, while an older woman grips her sewing machine while looking anxiously at the shadows. What has transpired, and who is approaching? Are the women transgressors, or victims? Collier specialised in such moments of dramatic tension.from Victorian / Edwardian Paintings blog.
As has been noted, the Impressionists painted not a landscape but the impression of a landscape. Nothing here is painted exactly; rather, everything is suggested. Monet unforgettably evokes a mood by choosing these shades of green and red. If he painted flowers of another color, the hillside would be stagnant.from Color Vision and Art.