Maximilien Luce painted this shimmering scene of the port of London in the Pointillist style pioneered by fellow artist Georges Seurat. Pointillism incorporated various scientific notions about color and form, especially the discovery that complementary colors—such as orange and blue or yellow and purple—applied in separate dots can optically blend into more vivid tones than are achieved by mixing paint alone.
Rather than the picturesque landmarks elsewhere along the Thames, Luce painted London’s industrial docks and warehouses. In his nighttime view, these normally bustling sites of labor are deserted and glow under the light of a full moon.
