Pier 1915

Walter Gramatté made this painting of a pier with oils, at some point, probably pretty quickly. Look at how he’s wrestling with the paint! It’s all about touch here: these luscious slabs of colour, laid down with a real sense of immediacy. You can almost feel the wind and weather in the way he’s applied the paint. Notice the way the brushstrokes create a sense of movement, as if the water is constantly shifting and rippling. And the sky! Gramatté really captures how a sky can be both menacing and beautiful at the same time, all with these small marks. I am reminded of Paula Modersohn-Becker, a slightly earlier German painter also working with landscapes using similar techniques. Ultimately, art is about the conversation we have with each other. It’s a constant back-and-forth, an ongoing exchange of ideas and feelings, without any need for concrete conclusion.