Vissershaven te Oostende 1913

Constant Permeke made this painting of a fishing port in Oostende with oil on canvas, and you can almost smell the sea air. The paint is thick, luscious, and applied with a kind of urgency. Look at the way Permeke builds up the surface, especially in the sky and the boats. It's not about detail; it’s about capturing the essence of the scene. Notice the way the light reflects off the water, almost blinding in its intensity. The color palette is earthy, but with pops of bright blues and greens that give the painting a sense of vibrancy. My eye keeps returning to the figures in the boats – they seem so small and insignificant against the vastness of the sea. It reminds me of Courbet, and his ability to capture the human condition within the immensity of nature. For Permeke, painting was a way of wrestling with the world. He gives us not a picture, but an experience.