Véranda sur la Plage de Cannes c. 1922

Henri Lebasque made this oil on canvas painting, Véranda sur la Plage de Cannes, capturing a scene in the South of France. I’m drawn to the way the strokes of paint aren’t trying to hide. They're laid bare, and there's a kind of freedom in how the artist represents the scene. You can almost feel the heat radiating off the canvas! The texture of the paint is really present, especially in the foreground where the brushstrokes build up to form the railings of the veranda. The paint feels almost sculptural, like you could reach out and touch the scene. The blues and greens seem to cool the scene down a little, but if you look closely you can see how he mixed different shades to bring more depth to the work. Lebasque reminds me a little of Bonnard, especially in the intimate, domestic scenes, and the way they both play with light and color. Both artists understood that art can be an ongoing conversation, not just with other artists, but with our own perceptions and experiences.