Berglandschaft mit Häusern 1912

This painting of a mountain landscape with houses was made by Alexej von Jawlensky, though the date is unknown. The houses are thick with impasto, looking like they are basking in the very last bit of sunlight, while the mountain looms, dark and cool and quiet. I wonder what it must have been like for Jawlensky as he laid down those strokes, building up those little yellow houses with such intensity. I bet the painting itself was a real struggle, a back-and-forth between intention and accident, each layer responding to the last. You can see the influence of the German Expressionists in this painting. Ultimately, it’s a reminder that art is about process, about the journey of discovery that unfolds as we create, and how artists build on the ideas of those who came before, inspiring new modes of expression.