Estaque 1905

Andre Derain made this landscape painting called Estaque with bright colours and bold strokes. It's like he's wrestling with the scene, trying to pin down the light and the form with every dab of the brush. I imagine him standing there, squinting at the Mediterranean sun, thinking, how do I capture this explosion of colour? The reds of the tree trunks practically vibrate against the yellows and greens of the foliage. It’s not about making it look real, it’s about feeling the place, the heat, the energy. Look how he layers the paint, thick in some spots, thin in others, creating this push and pull across the canvas. That one quick stroke of red along the path makes me think of Van Gogh. It’s like they are both in this constant dialogue about how to see, how to translate that vision onto the canvas, sharing ideas across time. Painting becomes a way to express the world in a very physical, immediate way.