Meandering Landscape with River 1907

Here we have Mondrian’s *Meandering Landscape with River*, a watercolor painting of a Dutch river scene. Look at the cloudy sky, the watery river, and the grassy banks. I see the hand of Mondrian in the smudgy washes of color; the grey sky that feels heavy and close, like it might rain any second. You can almost feel him there, trying to capture the weight of the sky, trying to see the landscape beyond the veil of weather. The way he’s handled the river, so flat, like a mirror, makes me think of other painters, of course. The impressionists are so close to Mondrian in this work; one foot in landscape and the other stepping toward something more abstract. He is in conversation with them. Artists are always looking, always pushing. We build on each other's work, and it's like we're having this never-ending conversation across time. It’s like painting is a verb, a way of seeing that’s always in flux.