Good Impression

As you walk across the bridge from the United Kingdom into France, take a look down near the water. The scene of a relaxing day near the river is perfectly captured in time, with fishing poles still arched over the water, bicycles propped up against the wall, and a painting in the midst of being completed.



The painting itself is of particular interest, as it is done in the style of the famous Impressionist period, made famous by the likes of Monet, Renoir, and many other talented artists. The style featured short, quick brushstrokes that were used to capture the fleeting quality of time rather than realistic details.

But before I let the Art History major in me really go all out, the painting's subject is really worth noting. It is of the World Traveler building in the International Gateway. I usually never give a second thought to that area - it's just one more gift shop on the way out of the park. Yet in viewing this painting, I was suddenly struck by its architecture. It perfectly blends aspects of its neighboring countries, France and the United Kingdom, to create a seamless transistion (much like the use of lightpoles or the infamous trashcans, but to a larger scale). In choosing this building as the subject for an Impressionist's painting, it directly connects the two areas even further to help intuitively link them.