Carrières-Saint-Denis 1918 - 1920

Maurice de Vlaminck laid down this landscape, Carrières-Saint-Denis, with oils. Just look at the blues and greens, all juicy and restless. I can almost feel him painting it, wrestling with those greens, trying to nail down the weight of those trees and how the sky presses down. Imagine Vlaminck there, on the riverbank, bristles jabbing the canvas, probably swearing a bit as he tries to capture how the light hits the water. Look at the brushstrokes – thick, bold, not messing around. There’s a real energy, like he’s in a hurry to get it all down before the light changes. That chunky line that defines the buildings, that little spire – he knew what he wanted to say and he went for it. Vlaminck, like all of us painters, was talking to other painters, doing his bit for the conversation. It's like he's saying, "Hey, check this out, this is how I see the world, what do you think?" Painting’s a language, right, and we're all just trying to figure out what to say.