Cagnes 1934

Carl Moll's 'Cagnes' is like a puzzle of warm hues and broken strokes, capturing a landscape shimmering under the Mediterranean sun. I can almost feel Moll's hand moving across the canvas, each dab and dash of paint building up this scene, part memory, part observation. The buildings in the distance are captured in pale yellows and blues, with just enough detail to hint at their presence. Moll has really flattened the space here with these blocks of colour, pushing and pulling the image in ways that both abstract and clarify it. Look at the way he handles the trees: they become these skeletal structures, like whispers of winter against the promise of spring. He's got a pointillist thing going on, anticipating later movements, but he also references older traditions. You can imagine him in conversation with artists like Gustav Klimt. Ultimately, painting is about adding to the ongoing dialogue, riffing off what others have done, finding your own voice, and adding something new to the mix.