By the Sea 

Maxime Maufra made this oil on canvas painting, depicting a coastal scene, sometime before 1918. Maufra's materials of choice are, on one level, entirely traditional: paint and canvas. But look closely, and you'll notice that these materials have been applied with an undeniable freedom. The brushstrokes are chunky, almost sculptural. He's not trying to trick us into thinking that we're actually looking at a seascape; instead, he's bringing our attention to the materiality of the painting itself. Consider the social context. At the time Maufra was painting, there was a growing interest in landscapes as emblems of national identity. Yet, Maufra's painting does not seem to portray the grandeur of nature. Rather, the artist appears to be interested in texture and movement, the very act of applying paint to the canvas. It’s a reminder that even the most conventional artistic mediums can become a site of material experimentation, and quiet subversion.