Gotteron 1943

Balthus made this painting, Gotteron, with oil on canvas. It's a landscape, but not in the way we usually expect. The dark greens and browns aren't exactly inviting, are they? I imagine Balthus, standing before this scene, grappling with how to capture the weight and stillness of the landscape, how he might have mixed those greens and browns, layering them, scraping them back, trying to find the right balance. There's something about the way he's handled the paint, a kind of awkwardness, that feels so human. Look at the way the light hits the rocks. It's like a spotlight, but it's also kind of eerie. I wonder if he was thinking about Courbet, another painter who loved rocks and strange light? All painters are in conversation with each other, borrowing, stealing, arguing. Ultimately, Gotteron invites us to slow down, to look closely, and to find beauty in the unexpected.