Paper Mill at Port Marly 1920

This is Gustave Loiseau’s painting of the Paper Mill at Port Marly, we don't know exactly when it was made but it is likely the early 20th century. Look at the way Loiseau builds up the image with little taps of color, a mosaic of tiny touches. It's a process of accumulation, like the way memory works, layering experience upon experience. Notice the texture, how the dabs of paint create a shimmering surface. The colours are muted, grays and greens dominating, yet there's a vibrancy, a sense of light flickering across the scene. See how the smoke from the mill, rendered in soft grays, seems to dissolve into the sky, blurring the line between the industrial and the natural. The path leading into the scene is particularly inviting, a dark line rendered in little touches. It is as if the ground itself is alive, vibrating with energy. This feels like a cousin to the work of Camille Pissarro, another painter who found beauty in the everyday. Like Pissarro, Loiseau invites us to see the world with fresh eyes, to find the extraordinary in the ordinary.