Meandering Landscape with River 1907

Piet Mondrian made this watercolor landscape, now hanging at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, with delicate washes of pigment. It’s all about touch, really, you can see him feeling his way across the paper. The paint is thin, almost transparent, allowing the paper's texture to peek through. Look closely, and you'll notice subtle variations in tone; in the way the grey of the sky meets the green of the banks of the river. Mondrian's brushstrokes are barely there, like he’s coaxing the image into existence rather than forcing it. The painting feels tentative, like a fleeting moment captured in time. It reminds me of Fairfield Porter, or maybe even some of those early Turners, all about capturing the feeling of a place. It's a quiet piece, but it speaks volumes about the artist's evolving vision, a testament to the fact that art is not about perfection but about the process of seeing and feeling.