The villagers' haven, Póvoa de Varzim

Marques de Oliveira, like his generation colleagues, following a program of inventory of places, painted numerous impressions of Póvoa de Varzim. All of them with a freedom of execution little appreciated in his time that became today the most valued aspect of his work. This landscape exhibits a curious construction in which the stain of defined contours functions as a constituent element - a subtle memory of Corot. The earthy tonality of the foreground contrasts with the brightness of the whites of the background, which emphasize a volumetry creating a depth of field that the foreground almost dilutes.