Treading the blue sky 1949

Raoul Dufy made "Treading the blue sky" with oil on canvas and, looking at it, I imagine Dufy working quickly, intuitively. A flurry of brushstrokes, all building toward a scene, but still feeling like independent gestures. I can feel the surface of the canvas underneath those marks, the thinness of the paint allowing for light to bounce around between the layers. He's trying to capture the mood of this rural scene. The sky is blue, but there is a darkness there too, maybe a storm is coming. The workers are rendered with such loose lines, they almost feel like ghosts. Dufy is trying to capture a feeling, an atmosphere. It makes me think of Matisse, and how he used color and line to create a sense of joy and freedom. Like Dufy, Matisse was exploring the way painting can be a direct expression of feeling, blurring the line between representation and abstraction. It’s like they're all in conversation, asking questions and pushing the boundaries of painting.