A Canal in Dordrecht

Maximilien Luce was trained as a wood engraver, but technological advances rendered his trade obsolete. He turned to painting full time and became perhaps the most prolific French Neo-impressionist artist. Art critic Félix Fénéon characterized him as a coarse, honest man, with a rough and muscular talent, traits one might find in this view of Dordrecht. Here thick patches of drypoint burr dominate the softly lit view along the water. The dusky light plays over the buildings and tree in the middle ground, while the sky and foreground glow through the dappled surface.