San Giorgio, Grey Day, Venice 1911

Clarence Gagnon made this painting of San Giorgio in Venice, on what looks like a grey day, using oil on canvas. The whole thing is built from quick, choppy strokes, like he’s trying to catch a feeling more than a perfect picture. I find myself drawn to the way he layers the blues – that deep, almost brooding sky pressing down on the lighter, restless sea. The paint isn’t trying to hide anything; you can see how each stroke builds up the texture, especially in the clouds. Look at that little blob of white on the rock in the foreground, it just pops, doesn’t it? It’s such a simple touch, but it gives the whole scene a kind of immediacy. Gagnon was a contemporary of the Impressionists, and you can see their influence here, but there’s also something uniquely his in the way he captures the mood of a place. It reminds me a little of Whistler, actually, that same interest in atmosphere and the way light can transform a scene. It’s a reminder that art is always a conversation, artists picking up on each other’s ideas and making them their own.