The Banks of the Pond at Rosporden 1911

Maxime Maufra paints this scene of Rosporden with oils in a way that feels like he’s embracing the messiness of the moment. It’s like he’s saying, ‘Here’s the pond, but it’s also just paint.’ Up close, you see how the surface is built with tons of little dashes, like he’s trying to catch the light dancing on the water. The colours, mostly blues and greens, feel calm, but there’s this underlying energy from the way he applies the paint. Check out the way the church spire is rendered in the background. It dissolves into the sky with short, broken strokes. This kind of fragmented approach reminds me a little of Cezanne, who was also obsessed with capturing the way light and form break down into abstract shapes. It’s like Maufra is exploring not just what he sees, but how seeing itself works. There is never one fixed way to interpret the world.