Valley of the Lot at Vers 1912

Andre Derain painted "Valley of the Lot at Vers" with what looks like oil on canvas, and you can really see the marks of his brushstrokes. It's like he's inviting us into his process, showing us how he built this landscape. Look at the way he uses color to define the shapes of the hills and cliffs. The paint isn’t too thick but it is opaque. There's this one spot on the cliff to the left where he's layered different shades of brown and grey, creating this sense of depth and texture. It's almost like you can feel the roughness of the rock. It makes you wonder what kind of brushes he was using and how quickly he was working. This piece reminds me a little of Cezanne, but with a wilder, more expressive energy. It shows how art is like a conversation, with artists borrowing ideas from each other and pushing them in new directions. It leaves so much space for interpretation.