The Pool of London 1906

Andre Derain made “The Pool of London” with paint, maybe oil, and a lot of looking. The first thing that grabs me is the colour – it’s like he’s turned up the saturation dial way past 10. The boats and buildings aren’t just red and blue, they are *hyper*-red and *electric*-blue. I wonder what the water tasted like. It makes you think about how much of seeing is about deciding what to look at in the first place. Then how to make it. It’s clear Derain wasn’t trying to copy what was there; he wanted to build something new, like a kid with blocks, or maybe one of those boats. Look at that smear of bright green near the top – is that land? Is it sky? Who cares! It’s there and it makes the whole picture sing. This piece makes me think of Matisse, especially that Fauvist show at the Salon d'Automne. But Derain’s got his own voice, a little rougher, maybe, a little more punk. It reminds you that art isn’t about getting things “right,” it’s about having a conversation, a wild, colourful argument that never really ends.