Le Port De Rotterdam 1907

Maximilien Luce painted Le Port De Rotterdam with oils, in a way that celebrates the process of seeing as much as the place itself. The surface is alive with small touches of contrasting colour, greens and blues against reds and oranges, creating a shimmering effect across the surface of the water. The paint isn’t too thick, but the brushstrokes are confident, capturing the reflections and movement of the water. Look closely at the smoke billowing from the boats' funnels – Luce uses purples and pinks to give it a sense of volume and weight, making it almost touchable. This little area encapsulates the whole, the industrial subject becomes a vehicle to explore the qualities of paint itself. Luce’s contemporary, Camille Pissarro, used a similar approach in his paintings of urban life. Both artists revelled in the challenge of finding beauty in the everyday, reminding us that art is an ongoing conversation, an exploration of how we see and experience the world around us.