Distant View at Cape Muroto 1935

Fujishima Takeji painted ‘Distant View at Cape Muroto’ with oil on canvas using a restrained palette and direct, visible brushstrokes. It feels like a specific moment, captured quickly. The surface is fairly smooth, but you can still see the marks of the brush, particularly in the water. There’s something very satisfying about how the thick white paint describes the foam of the waves crashing against the rocks. And those rocks! They look like little islands. Each mark and gesture feels deliberate yet spontaneous, reflecting the artist's engagement with the process of painting itself. The way Takeji uses color and texture to create depth is subtle, but it works. The eye travels back to the horizon, but is held in the foreground by the contrast of the ochre rocks and the white waves. He reminds me a bit of Hopper, in the way he captures a sense of loneliness and contemplation, even in a scene filled with movement. Art is an ongoing conversation, always borrowing and building on what came before. It’s a reminder that art is never really finished, but always evolving.