The Pink Cloudc. 1896 · Study 2020.106

Context from the museum

Due to his diagnosis of persistent rheumatism, Henri-Edmond Cross left Paris in 1891 and settled in the seaside village of Saint-Clair on the Mediterranean coast where the climate was more temperate. He expressed his enthusiasm for the French Riveria to his mother, “In the distance, the blue silhouette of the Maures and the Estérel—I have enough here to keep me busy all of life—I have just discovered happiness.” Once he had settled in the south, Cross adopted the Neo-Impressionist technique of Pointillism—applying paint in small dots or dashes of complementary colors that mix in the beholder’s eye to create an intense sensation of color and light. Here, a spectacular cloud is illuminated by the sunset. A pair of cypress trees link the garden landscape below to the vivid sky above.

Museum description reproduced from its CC0 open-access record. Read the original catalog entry.

A detail to notice

Drawn to the beauty of the landscape and the climate that improved his chronic rheumatism from its state in Paris, Cross moved to the south of France where he made a home with his wife, Irma Clare, in Saint-Clair, a small village near the coast.

Observation supplied by the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected unframed measurement for The Pink Cloud is 61 cm wide and 54.6 cm high, equivalent to approximately 24.0 × 21.5 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 1.12:1. The rectangular bounding area is 0.33 square meters; it describes the measured footprint, not the amount of paint or the monetary value.

On an illustrative 300 cm wall, the recorded width occupies 20.3% of the span before adding a frame. A centered placement leaves approximately 119.5 cm on each side before adding a frame. These are calculations by Physical Art For Crypto using museum measurements. They are not the museum’s display recommendations.

Questions to bring to your own collection

With The Pink Cloud in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, oil on canvas, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this horizontal composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 61 cm width still suit the space after allowing for furniture and a frame?
• What surface detail would you need to see in person or in a close photograph?