Landscape in Arges Valley 1932

Henri Catargi made this watercolor landscape in the Arges Valley, and what strikes me is the easy way he seems to have approached this painting, it's so loose, spontaneous. The palette is earthy, muted, but there's a vibrancy in the application of paint - you can see the brushstrokes dancing across the page. The way he's layered the washes creates a sense of depth and atmosphere, and the thinness of the paint allows the paper to breathe through. You can almost feel the wind rustling in the trees. Look at the red of the figure in the right-hand corner. It adds a brilliant jolt against all that understatement. The sketchy lines add an almost childlike feel to the work. It is like he's not trying to impress anyone, and this makes me think of Joan Mitchell, the way she let her feelings guide her brush, creating these bold, gestural landscapes that are both personal and universal. What is landscape painting anyway, if not a feeling?