Olympic with Returned Soldiers 1919

Arthur Lismer made this painting of the "Olympic with Returned Soldiers," probably with oil on canvas, sometime in the early 20th century. Look at how he laid down the paint, so quick and thick! It feels like he was really in the moment, capturing the scene as it unfolded before him. There's a real physicality to this painting. You can practically feel the texture of the paint, especially in the way the light hits the ship. The blues and grays create a somber mood, but there’s an energy to the brushstrokes that suggests movement. My eye keeps going back to the stripes on the ship, they are so bold and graphic, yet they kind of dissolve into the overall scene. It reminds me of how a memory can be both vivid and blurry at the same time. Lismer was part of the Group of Seven, and you can see their influence here, with a focus on capturing the raw, untamed beauty of the Canadian landscape. But he also reminds me of some of the German Expressionists, like Kirchner, in his use of color and emotion. Art is all about these kinds of conversations, you know?