The Onion Market 1907

Raoul Dufy conjures a bustling market scene with what looks like oil on canvas. Just imagine Dufy facing a blank canvas, armed with brushes loaded with hues of blue, green, and ochre. You can almost feel the energy of the crowd as he lays down these vibrant strokes. The way the trees reach upwards with those dark, sinuous lines against the bright blue sky gives a sense of depth and movement. I wonder if he was thinking about the Fauves when he painted this, or maybe even Cézanne with the way he flattened the space and built up the forms with color. Look at that one little spot of red near the bottom left! It’s like a tiny spark that ignites the whole scene. Painting is like that, you know. One mark leads to another, and suddenly you’ve created a whole world. Artists are always in conversation with one another, borrowing and riffing off ideas, and it’s amazing to see how Dufy adds his own voice to the mix here. For me, this painting embodies the sheer joy of seeing and feeling.