The Quai, Lannion 1910

Childe Hassam made The Quai, Lannion with watercolors. The way Hassam laid down the washes, one after another, lets the whiteness of the paper breathe through. It's all about the dance of pigment and water. Look at the way the blues melt into the whites, especially in the sky and the rooftops. There’s this feeling of fluidity, like the whole scene is shimmering in the heat. The way the colors bleed into each other makes me think of a memory, hazy and dreamlike. Now, check out the tower in the background. See how Hassam uses these quick, broken strokes to define its form? It’s not about getting every detail right, but about capturing the essence of the thing. Hassam’s technique reminds me a bit of Turner, but with a lighter touch, maybe like Whistler, too, thinking about how we see, rather than what we see. It's not just a painting, it’s a mood, a moment, an experience.