Coast Goulphar 1905

Maxime Maufra made this painting of the Coast Goulphar, probably en plein air, with oil paint on canvas. The way Maufra builds up the surface is really something, isn’t it? The color palette is kind of muted, grays and browns, but the physical application of the paint is what brings it to life. Look at the way he renders the water – short, choppy strokes that give you a real sense of the waves crashing against the rocks. And then those rocks themselves, built up with layers of thick, textured paint. I keep coming back to the lower left corner, where there's this cluster of rocks with touches of orange and red. Those warm colors pop against the cooler tones of the water, it draws your eye in and anchors the whole composition. Maufra’s work reminds me a little of Courbet, that same interest in capturing the raw, untamed power of nature. And like Courbet, Maufra isn't trying to give us a pretty picture postcard; he's trying to give us an experience. He invites us to really feel the wind and the spray of the ocean.