The Dunes of Port Blanc near Ile de Quiberon 1908

Maxime Maufra painted this landscape with oil on canvas, capturing the Dunes of Port Blanc. Imagine him outside, trying to get the horizon just right. The sky is a soft peach, bleeding into the sea, where the waves have this frothy edge, like lace. I wonder what Maufra was thinking, staring out at the ocean? Did he feel small, or powerful? Did he mix the sand from the beach into the paint so he would never forget this place? The strokes are loose and free, the brush almost dancing, like the sea in a storm, and you can almost feel the wind. This is a painting about feeling more than seeing, you know? It reminds me of some work by Turner; it’s like Maufra is having a conversation with him, across time, about how to paint the invisible. He has understood that painting is more than just representation; it is a portal to another reality.