Maypole 1903

Maurice Prendergast made this watercolor, Maypole, with a loose, dappled touch, like confetti thrown on the paper. The way he builds up the image with these small touches reminds me of Seurat, but with a playful informality, as if it came together by chance. Looking closely, I see how the marks are not just descriptive, but also kind of abstract. The paint is thin, washy, and transparent. It creates a shimmering surface that flickers between representation and pure sensation. See that little patch of red in the upper center? It reads as a maypole decoration, but it's also just a vibrant burst of color, alive with energy. Prendergast’s work, like Bonnard’s, seems to anticipate later developments in abstract painting. They both find a place between the observed world and the free play of the medium. It’s this negotiation, this ambiguity, that makes art so endlessly fascinating to me.