One of a series of large-scale nudes seen outdoors that Frieseke began to paint around 1908, when he settled in Giverny, the French village where Claude Monet was his neighbor. (http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/10915) "Frieseke himself also stated that “no artist in [the Impressionist] school has influenced me except, perhaps, Renoir.” This may explain why, though Frieseke is generally regarded as an Impressionist painter, his work also has elements of other styles. Take, for example, his painting Venus in the Sunlight. He uses wide brushstrokes which are characteristic of the Impressionist style, making it seem as though you are viewing a painting with a kaleidoscopic lense. He also uses light, pastel colors and is focused on the effects of light.... In Venus in the Sunlight, the nude female is the focus of the painting and anything else around her is unimportant. We know that she is outdoors and in a garden or field, but can we make out anything else? There is a blanket, a parasol, grass, and some flowers or purple leaves but, especially behind the figure, it is hard to tell what anything is. It looks more like an abstract background meant to highlight the nude figure than anything else. The leaves or flowers just blend into the water, which then blends into the grass and there is no beginning or end to anything. It almost seems as though the nude female is suspended in a flowery void, relishing the sunlight. ....Frieseke is known for painting the female form, both nude and clothed, and it is in part due to this reason that he moved to France, as artistic interest in the nude form was still a controversial matter in America. Despite this, he claimed that his main interest was the effects of sunlight. He has said, “It is sunshine, flowers in sunshine, girls in sunshine, the nude in sunshine, which I have been principally interested in… If I could only reproduce it exactly as I see it I would be satisfied.” https://nbmaa.wordpress.com/2010/12/21/a-reluctant-impressionist/)