Ortschaft bei trübem Wetter c. 1909 - 1910

Tina Blau made this painting, ‘Ortschaft bei trübem Wetter’, with oil on canvas at a time when landscape painting was changing rapidly. The way she builds up the image with layers of short, visible brushstrokes really makes you think about the act of painting itself. The canvas is alive with texture, it feels like you could almost reach out and touch the rough surface of the thatched roof. The muted colors—earthy browns, grays, and greens—create a somber, almost melancholy mood. Look at how she renders the sky, a mass of heavy clouds with strokes that blend and merge. There's a real sense of atmosphere, of a damp, overcast day. And then, a pop of orange peeks from underneath, implying the sunset and a sense of hope. Blau was a contemporary of artists like Monet, and you can see a similar interest in capturing fleeting moments of light and atmosphere, but with a distinctly Austrian sensibility. It's a reminder that art is always in conversation, across time and place.