Port-Bara (Near the Ile de Quiberon) 1914

Maxime Maufra captured this coastal scene with oil on canvas, and it just makes me want to pick up a brush. I bet he mixed his blues and whites right there, on the beach, trying to match the exact hue of the turbulent sea. I imagine Maufra, bracing himself against the wind, squinting at the crashing waves, and really going for it with his brushstrokes. There’s a real freedom here, a dance between observation and expression. The paint is applied in these short, choppy strokes, mimicking the movement of the water. And the cliffs, this lovely mix of reds, greens, and purples, suggest the ruggedness of the landscape. It reminds me a little of Courbet. What’s so cool about painting, and what Maufra shows us here, is how the artist can take something as wild and untamed as the sea and translate it into something we can hold onto. And in doing so, he’s in conversation with all the artists who’ve tried to capture the sea, each one adding their own unique voice.