Trees at Estaque 1908

Raoul Dufy made this painting of Trees at Estaque with what looks like oil on canvas, and right away you can see he’s thinking about how to build a picture with these brushy planes. There’s something almost geometrical about how he’s put down the greens and ochres. It's like he’s asking, how do colors next to each other make a world? I love how the brushstrokes are visible; you can practically feel the push and pull of his hand as he’s laying down each mark. Look at the bark on the tree on the left, how it’s made up of blues, grays, and even some pink. That little area alone is a masterclass in color relationships. This feels like a conversation with Cézanne, who painted in the same area. But where Cézanne is all about weight and solidity, Dufy feels lighter, more open. It's like he's taken Cézanne's language and turned it into something new, something all his own.