Seascape at Berck, Fishing Boats and Fishermen 1873

Edouard Manet's *Seascape at Berck, Fishing Boats and Fishermen* is an oil on canvas painting evoking the stark reality of maritime life through its gestural brushwork and muted palette. The painting's structure is defined by a contrast between the active foreground, filled with fishermen and boats, and the calmer horizon line of the sea. Manet uses thick, visible brushstrokes to build form, prioritizing texture and immediacy over precise detail. The restricted range of grays, browns, and blues enhances the somber, almost melancholic mood, drawing attention to the materiality of the paint itself. This emphasis on the act of painting disrupts traditional expectations of landscape art. Instead of offering an illusion of depth, Manet flattens the picture plane, challenging fixed notions of space and representation. The painting functions as a sign, where brushstrokes and color become symbolic of the harsh existence of the fishermen, inviting endless readings and interpretations.