Cliffs at Etretat 

Curator: We're looking at Lilla Cabot Perry's "Cliffs at Etretat," an oil painting. The image explodes with strokes of blue and white against the rock face and surging water. Editor: The mood is overwhelmingly energetic! The textured application of paint really captures the power of the ocean, and the cliff almost looks ablaze. It has an immediacy to it. Curator: It's tempting to consider the Impressionistic movement she's identified with and how it frees the painting to explore the optical effects of light, which serve to obscure the boundaries between land and sea. Editor: But even focusing on light alone misses something. Perry doesn't just record; she makes something entirely tangible through these marks. You can almost smell the sea salt. And look closely, the brushstrokes and how the paint’s worked mimic the way the water actually behaves, pulling and churning. Curator: Indeed. The facture contributes to our sense of dynamism. But if we follow a formal reading, the high horizon line does cut the composition almost in half, dividing sky and sea. Editor: True, but that "division" reinforces its subject: process. What kinds of brushes did she use, and how much time was dedicated to completing it? How much was she charging for these canvases, and were they readily bought? Perry makes that making of the picture so visible, front and center, to my eyes. Curator: It prompts reflection on artistic creation itself, certainly, and in its use of color and light it opens up dialogue between modernity and representation. The painting suggests something about humanity’s ability to witness sublime experiences in nature. Editor: Or humanity's ability to commodify it. Someone paid good money for this picture; money that also afforded Perry paints, brushes, and her living situation. Curator: Fair enough, but the way Perry handles that visual push and pull… there is just something so immediate about that rock face. Editor: I'm still struck by the layering, almost physical, qualities inherent in the craft itself, and how Perry transforms simple, basic stuff into visual complexity.