Fishing Harbour, Belgium, Recto; Sunset, Verso 1922

Maggie Laubser's "Fishing Harbour, Belgium" is painted with oil on canvas, a common material pairing for easel painting. Laubser’s painting technique is key to its effect. Notice the thick impasto and visible brushstrokes. The paint has been worked wet-into-wet, to yield a textured surface with colors mixed right on the canvas. The result is an image that has energy and immediacy. This manner of painting draws on Impressionism and Fauvism, art movements defined by the expressive handling of paint. Laubser was not interested in a smooth, academic finish, but rather in capturing the sensory impact of the scene. The materiality of paint is foregrounded to produce a rich and complex image. Considered in this way, the painting invites us to appreciate not just the subject, but also Laubser’s labor, and the sensory qualities of her chosen medium. We are compelled to consider the artistic choices and the labor involved in creating this vibrant depiction of a Belgian harbor.