Break in the Storm 1917

Algernon Talmage captured this cloudy seascape using a palette knife, it looks like. You can almost feel the weight of the air and the force of the waves, right? I imagine Talmage, squinting at the horizon, battling the wind and the changing light. It's a battle against nature itself, trying to capture a fleeting moment on canvas. These aren't gentle waves. The white foam is built from thick daubs of paint, applied with a palette knife, I'd bet. The strokes are loaded with material and energy. It makes me think of Courbet, maybe. Did Talmage know his work, I wonder? The sky is heavy and low, yet there's a sense of light trying to break through. It feels like a metaphor, doesn't it? Like a promise of hope amidst the storm. It's just a break, though, but that's enough. Painting, like the ocean, is a constant state of flux, always changing, always challenging.