Havnefogeden, rebslageren og skipperen. "Najaden" krydser ind 1916

Peter Hansen made "Havnefogeden, rebslageren og skipperen. "Najaden" krydser ind" with oil on canvas, though its date is unknown. The thick brushstrokes are really what stands out to me. It feels like Hansen was really digging into the paint. I like to imagine Hansen standing in front of his easel, squinting, trying to capture the essence of these salty old dogs, who probably had a lot of stories to tell. Look at the one standing, pointing. I can feel the weight of his coat, the roughness of his hands. The texture in this painting creates a kind of emotional shorthand. He’s really thinking about what the surface of the painting can do. Painters, you know, we’re all in conversation with each other, across time. We see what someone else did, and it sparks something in us. It’s like a relay race, passing the baton of creativity down the line, inspiring each other to see the world in new ways. We leave paintings open so others can project their own experiences and emotions onto them.