Trees at Estaque 1908

Raoul Dufy made this painting, titled 'Trees at Estaque', with oil on canvas. I can imagine him out there, squinting at the light, feeling the sun on his back. The blues and greens vibrate. And then bam! Those chunky tree trunks, holding the whole thing together. They're solid, but not really, because Dufy's got these dashes of color playing over them, making them feel alive, like they're breathing. I'm thinking of Cézanne here, how he broke everything down into shapes. But Dufy's got his own thing going on. It's like he’s saying, “Yeah, I see what you did, but check this out!” It’s a conversation, right? All these painters talking to each other across time. Each one messing with what came before, trying to figure out the world in their own way. And for Dufy, it’s like he’s trying to catch the joy of being alive, the way light dances through the trees.