View from the Seine 1892

Hans Andersen Brendekilde painted this view of the Seine using oil on canvas. These were the materials of academic painting, and, as such, suggest the artist’s ambition to place himself within its high tradition. Yet the application of the paint is quite modern. Brendekilde applies it with considerable freedom, even roughness, and is clearly more interested in capturing the effect of light than the detailed depiction of buildings and boats. The visible brushstrokes, and the palette of grays and greens, subtly evoke the urban environment, with its sense of industrious activity. The thick application also suggests the physical labor involved in producing the painting. The artist’s attention to the textures and materiality of paint invites us to reconsider what we mean by “finish.” Brendekilde asks us to see the inherent qualities of his chosen medium. And it reminds us that paintings, like the buildings depicted, are also constructed.