Seascape 1907

Maurice Prendergast made this painting, Seascape, with oil on canvas. I imagine Prendergast layering those colors, one dab at a time, building up the scene like tiles in a mosaic. What was he thinking as he brushed those strokes of blue, green, and brown onto the canvas? Maybe he was trying to capture the way light dances on the water, or the gritty texture of the rocks against the crashing waves. Look at those clouds, soft pinks, pale yellows, and lavender. It's as if he’s trying to catch a fleeting moment, the way the world transforms in an instant. You see the influence of painters like Cezanne and maybe some of the Impressionists. This work really places Prendergast in an ongoing conversation with artists across time. It's such a tactile, embodied expression, embracing all the ambiguity and uncertainty that comes with it. There are so many ways to see it, each interpretation adding to the richness of the work.