Female nude with a jug 1925

André Derain made this painting, 'Female nude with a jug', with oil on canvas. The colours are earthy, leaning towards warm browns and ochres that feel grounded and maybe even a little brooding. The artist's hand is visible in the way the paint is applied, thick in places, with visible brushstrokes that give the surface a tactile quality. Look at how Derain uses bold outlines to define the figure, almost like stained glass. This creates a sense of volume and weight. There's a tension between the flatness of the picture plane and the illusion of depth, particularly in the rendering of the nude and the landscape. This tension gives the piece a kind of energy. Derain was a contemporary of Matisse, and you can see a hint of Fauvism here. Though I think Derain, unlike Matisse, never seemed to fully let go of a certain classical sensibility, even while pushing the boundaries of colour and form. It's like he was always in dialogue with the art of the past, trying to find his place within it.