Die Dr. Seipel-Straße in Mödling 1942

Carl Moll made this painting of Die Dr. Seipel-Straße in Mödling with oil on canvas. Look how the muted palette, mostly yellows, greens, and browns, creates a sense of warmth and light, but also a kind of melancholic stillness. The paint is applied in these thick, visible strokes, almost like a mosaic. You can see the direction and energy of each brushstroke. It's as if Moll is inviting us to witness his process, the act of building the image bit by bit. Notice especially the impasto on the walls of the buildings to the right – those little peaks and valleys of paint that catch the light and give the surface a real tactile quality. It reminds me a little of Vuillard, especially his intimate interiors, but with a Viennese twist. Moll isn’t trying to create a window onto the world, but rather a world in itself, built from the stuff of paint.