Windy Day 1908

Leon Wyczółkowski painted this “Windy Day,” probably in oil, with a real sense of just letting it happen. It's all about capturing a moment, and like a true impressionist, it feels very spontaneous. What I love about this piece is how Wyczółkowski layers the paint, especially in the sky and the sea. You can almost feel the wind pushing the clouds and ruffling the water. The brushstrokes are loose, kind of broken, which gives the whole scene a lively, moving quality. Look at the way he's handled the foreground too, those trees are built up with dabs of green and brown that let the light through. It’s this play of light and shadow that makes the scene so atmospheric, you can almost smell the sea air. This feels like a cousin to some of Courbet's seascapes, that same interest in the raw, untamed power of nature. Both artists aren't afraid to let the paint do its thing, to embrace the unpredictable. And that, for me, is where the magic happens.