In these works he continued to pursue his long-standing quest to convey impressions of light and colour, but with the added notion that he needed to create more than one painting of each scene to explore and convey the changing effects of light and weather to the fullest extent.
Here perhaps Jefferson is following Ferguson (1773: 5), who argues that the study of men in an unnatural condition is like studying "the anatomy of the eye which had never received the impressions of light, or … an ear which had never felt the impulse of sounds".
Even stranger, it gives the impression of being light and airy without any windows.
Moving closer, he discovered that the colors came from drapes, a couch and a fireplace, but the initial impression of ungrounded light and color remained a fascinating touchstone.
Without it, they would take unutterably long to paint, and even if done, the close attention to narrow regions would undercut the overall impression of air, light, and distance.
The effect is frequently used on theatre marquees to give the impression of moving lights.
Inside the main building, the impression is one of light and airy space, especially in a private, bullet-proof apartment on the top floor built for the chancellor.
For his printmaking sources, he looked to the past, certainly to Rembrandt and maybe to the 19th-century French etcher Charles Meryon (1821-1868), admired for his impressions of Parisian light and shadow.
The text accompanying the painting reads: The Parisian artist Jacques de Loustal travels to exotic destinations--the volcanoes of Java, the medinas of North Africa, the streets beneath the Williamsburg Bridge--and makes sketches, in ink or pencil, on the spot; he adds colors later, in his hotel room, while his impressions of the light are still fresh.
