Rosehearty Pier 1910

Editor: Alfred William Finch's "Rosehearty Pier," painted around 1910 using oil paints, captures a scene bursting with energy! I’m really struck by how the waves seem to crash right out of the canvas, and the colours are so vibrant, they really vibrate! What do you see when you look at this piece? Curator: Oh, I'm with you entirely! Finch throws us headfirst into the raw, blustery energy of the North Sea, doesn't he? Look how he’s not just painting a pretty picture – he’s practically sculpting the scene with globs of paint. He wants us to feel the wind, the spray! For me, there’s something about the colours and texture which feel really bold. It’s so far removed from the way academic artists worked back then. He was living in a really international community. Do you see anything to reflect that in the image? Editor: Well, I can certainly see how his use of vibrant colours almost verges on Fauvism, and the broken brushstrokes remind me a lot of Van Gogh…So you think being embedded in this multicultural art environment played a huge role? Curator: Absolutely! Finch wasn’t afraid to soak up everything around him – Post-Impressionism, Pointillism – all those "isms" buzzing around the European art scene at the time. And, Rosehearty…it's so…stark. It shows off how those trends were refracted through his very own poetic lens. Editor: I see that. He’s really translated it to the canvas so vividly, It’s more than just the surface appearance – it feels like the essence of the pier and the ocean, distilled into a potent visual experience! Curator: Yes! And that pier, with the figures bravely clinging to the edge of it…they give a hint of humanity wrestling with the might of nature itself. Do you find yourself making up stories about who those folks might be? I bet their backs are aching! Editor: Totally! I can almost hear the wind howling. Seeing all these techniques melded together gives me such a wider sense of this historical context! Thank you for clarifying some of these artistic choices Finch makes and their relevance to this picture. Curator: My pleasure! And you’ve reminded me how powerfully art captures those transient, visceral moments that really bring us alive!