The Transatlantic leaving Port 1905

Maxime Maufra made "The Transatlantic Leaving Port" with oil on canvas back in 1905. Just look at those soft brushstrokes and that muted color palette. I can imagine Maufra standing on the docks, trying to capture the light as it shifts across the water. You can almost feel the salt spray and the movement of the boats. I wonder if Maufra was thinking about the excitement of travel, or maybe even the sadness of departure. There's a real stillness in the water that almost cancels out the implied movement. I bet the surface has some nice texture; all those little dabs of paint creating a sense of depth and atmosphere. What I notice in particular, is the way that boats mirror each other, so the whole port kind of rhymes. Maufra was part of a whole gang of painters in France, and you can see how they were all feeding off each other's energy and ideas.