Landscape at Cadaques 1913

Andre Derain painted this landscape of Cadaques with oil on canvas and you can really see his process here. He's not trying to hide anything. The way he's built up the forms with these chunky, almost architectural blocks of color is fascinating. Look at how the browns and beiges of the buildings contrast with the cool blues of the sea. It’s like he's constructing the scene, piece by piece, with each brushstroke. And the texture! You can almost feel the roughness of the canvas beneath the paint. See that little patch of green at the bottom left? It’s just a few strokes, but it completely grounds the composition. Reminds me a bit of Cezanne, but with a wilder, more Fauvist energy. It's like he's saying, "Here's a landscape, but it's also a painting. Deal with it." And I love that. It's a reminder that art is always a conversation, an exchange of ideas across time.