Moonlit Shore 1911

Albert Julius Olsson made this oil painting titled 'Moonlit Shore', and the way the whole scene glows feels like the paint itself is luminous. It's like he's wrestling with capturing light, not just depicting a landscape. Look at how the paint is built up in the waves, thick and textured, contrasting with the smoother, almost dreamy quality of the sky. You can almost feel the cool dampness and movement of the water. There's this one spot where the moonlight hits the wave just right, a burst of white that feels almost haphazard, yet it makes the whole scene sparkle. It puts me in mind of Turner, who was similarly trying to capture light and atmosphere, not just objects. There's a sense of the sublime here, that feeling of being overwhelmed by the beauty and power of nature, and that's something that's been explored by artists for centuries.