The Greek Coast

Ca. 1911/12, sold by Paul S. Reinsch (Madison, WI) to William C. Brumder (Milwaukee); November 1913, gifted to the University of Wisconsin-Madison; 1967, transferred to the Elvehjem Art Center [now called Chazen Museum of Art]

• Madison Art Association. "Collection of Paintings Owned by Paul S. Reinsch: Exhibition in the State Historical Library Building." Madison, WI: Madison Art Association, 1912. p. 10, no. 114

This painting depicts a rugged coastline with turbulent waves crashing against the rocky shore. A steep cliffside of rounded brown and gray rock, topped with tall trees with full, dark green canopies, towers over the shoreline on the left. In the foreground, large, jagged brown and gray rocks jut into the blue sea, with tall, white-capped waves crashing against them from the right. More waves collide with the cliffside as it recedes toward the horizon. Near the center of the painting, a lone figure stands among the boulders facing the sea. Dwarfed by the dramatic seascape, the figure, barely visible, holds a golden lyre and wears a mauve-colored gown that billows in the wind. The sky is filled with white and gray clouds against a vibrant blue background. As the clouds approach the horizon, they become darker and more condensed, hinting at stormy weather in the distance.

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