In Argenteuil, Monet had Camille and little Jean sit for a number of paintings. The intimate family scenes in which the mother and her child feature prominently soon gave way to broader compositions like Taking a Walk in Argenteuil, in which Camille, the child, and the unidentified man accompanying them are reduced to simple figures. These characters bring to life and melt into the landscape. The open parasols beneath a cloudy sky and the movement of Camille’s white dress capture the windy atmosphere. The field strewn with pink, yellow, and blue flowers monopolizes the painter’s attention. Here he created a work that is emblematic of Impressionism. And indeed the picture displays Impressionism’s most characteristic elements, including a study painted directly from life, shapes with indistinct outlines, a bright palette, and touches of pure color in the service of an idealized, bucolic vision of nature.