Cefn Bryn, Gower 1933

Lucien Pissarro made this landscape, Cefn Bryn, Gower, using Impressionist brushstrokes to capture the Welsh countryside. It's all about how he builds up the image, not just what he's painting. The surface has a real physicality; the paint isn’t trying to hide itself. Short dashes of blue, green, and yellow create textures that feel almost tactile. Look at the way he renders the shadows on the hills – these aren’t just dark areas, they’re built up from layers of colour. The brushwork is not smooth, but alive, and a little choppy. It's like he’s wrestling with the landscape, trying to pin down its essence. The way the colours vibrate against each other gives the whole scene an emotional charge. Pissarro reminds me a little of Cezanne, finding new ways to build an image from component marks. There's no definitive answer, just layers of looking and feeling.