Cliffs at Fecamp 1902

Gustave Loiseau painted this view of the Cliffs at Fecamp using short, staccato brushstrokes in a palette of muted greens, browns, and greys. Imagine Loiseau standing before this scene, squinting into the misty light, trying to capture the essence of the place. He’s trying to make something solid out of fleeting impressions. The paint is applied in dense layers, building up a tactile surface that mirrors the rugged texture of the cliffs themselves. See that little dab of white where the waves crash against the rocks? That’s not just water, it’s energy! It’s easy to see the influence of Impressionism here, but Loiseau brings his own sensibility to it. He seems less interested in capturing the fleeting moment and more interested in the enduring presence of the landscape. Like Cezanne, he builds his paintings from blocks of colour, creating a sense of weight and volume. These guys are all in conversation, you know, each picking up where the other left off, pushing the boundaries of what paint can do. They show us there’s always more to see.