Bateaux Sur La Meuse À Rotterdam 1909

Maximilien Luce made Bateaux Sur La Meuse À Rotterdam with oil paint, and when you look at it, think about the kind of brushstrokes that are used. Notice how they look quite separate? The marks here aren't blended, or made smooth, but have a really nice kind of choppy feeling. These strokes work together to build the image, but each mark still feels distinct, right? I love that! It's a reminder that painting is a process, a collection of decisions, not just a smooth surface. Look at the sails, and how the colour creates a sense of light, but also form, through different tones. The overall effect is luminous, with the cool blues and greens of the water contrasting against the warm yellows, oranges, and reds of the boats. Then check out the little boats off in the distance, see how the painting gets a bit wilder towards the horizon line? The way Luce plays with light and color puts me in mind of Seurat or Pissarro, and how they used brushwork as a way of playing with light itself, and how vision works!