Coast Goulphar 1905

Maxime Maufra made this painting of Coast Goulphar in France using oil paint, probably en plein air – you can almost smell the sea! I can imagine him, trying to capture the light as it flickers across the waves. It's all soft greys and purples, with these abrupt, dark rocks jutting out. The brushstrokes are so present, like he's wrestling with the wind and the spray of the sea. Look at the way he’s built up the surface. You can almost feel the texture of the canvas, the drag of the brush. It reminds me of Courbet. Maufra must have been thinking about how to make paint mimic the feeling of a real place and that anxiety that comes with it. He's not just painting what he sees, but how it feels to be there. It's like he's inviting us to join him, standing on the edge of the world.