Autumn Landscape at Goulazon 1900

Maxime Maufra likely painted 'Autumn Landscape at Goulazon' with oils on canvas, using brushes to apply thick layers of pigment. Now, let's consider the material qualities of paint, how it can capture the light, and the way Maufra applied it to the canvas. You see the direct marks of the brush, the texture, and the thickness of the impasto. In this loose, broken brushwork, Maufra evokes the vibrant colors of the season and the transience of nature. But there's something else here too. The rural setting reminds us of the labor involved in tending the land, the cyclical rhythms of farming, and the connection between the land and those who work it. The materials and labor of painting, when combined with the rural subject, make it hard to separate the world of art from the world of everyday life.