Ruins of Pompeii 1909

Fujishima Takeji made this evocative landscape, 'Ruins of Pompeii,' with oil on canvas. The paint is applied in thick, juicy strokes, a real celebration of the material. Look at the foreground, the way the paint almost stands up off the canvas. You can practically feel the grit of the ruins. The colors are muted, earthy browns and greens, reflecting the weight of history in the scene. Takeji really captures the atmosphere of a place marked by time and loss. There’s a freedom in the brushwork. It reminds me a bit of Corot, the way he uses light and shadow to create depth, but there’s a modern sensibility too, in the directness and the honesty of the paint. What really gets me is the suggestion of a narrative, a story unfolding in the ruins. It’s like the painting is asking you to imagine what happened here, to feel the echoes of the past. The painting invites us to reflect not just on history, but on the very act of seeing and remembering.