Vele nel porto 1923

Carlo Carra painted 'Vele nel porto' in 1923. It’s this brooding, almost cloying scene, slathered in dark greens and greys. It feels like the colour was mixed intuitively, like the colours themselves are having a conversation, full of doubt and confidence at the same time. Up close, you see how the paint is worked; not delicate at all, but loaded onto the surface. The little touches of white on the water, they’re almost brutal. And then there's the yellow and green sail – a jolt of colour against all that murk. It feels almost Fauvist, a pure expression of colour for colour's sake. It's this one moment of hope, or maybe madness, in an otherwise somber scene. I'm reminded a bit of Marsden Hartley, though Hartley is more overtly expressionistic. Carra seems to be holding something back, leaving room for the sea to speak, or maybe for us to find our own story in the waves.