Landscape with Houses 1970

Robert De Niro Senior painted this "Landscape with Houses" with oil paint, and it’s signed 'DeNiro '70', so let's assume it was created in 1970. What strikes me is how De Niro, Sr., embraces the joy of seeing. He's not caught up in perfect representation, more in the process of conjuring a world with simple marks and bold colours, like that salmon pink for the pathway. The painting surface isn’t hidden. It's all about the texture, the way the brush grabs and releases paint. Look at how the yellow and red mix in the foreground, almost like a dance. It’s kind of amazing how he suggests so much with so little. And those doorways? They're just rectangles, but they pull you in, don’t they? De Niro, Sr., reminds me a little of Milton Avery, in the way he simplifies forms and uses colour to create atmosphere. It's like they're both having a conversation across time about what really matters in painting, and in seeing.