Landscape with Trees 1911

Lili Elbe made this landscape with trees in oil paint, at an unknown date. Look at how Elbe gently laid down the colours, almost like watercolour, in these soft horizontal bands of muted pinks and blues. See how the paint application is quite thin and transparent, with the brushstrokes visible but not overworked. Notice the way the strokes run parallel, suggesting the calmness of a still body of water and the gentle rhythm of the landscape. Then you spot the trees, framing the scene, standing tall and slightly off-kilter, grounding the piece with their verticality. I love the way the artist leaves space for us to breathe and wander through the scene. It feels like a moment captured, a quiet observation of the world. It reminds me a bit of some early Vuillard, intimate and domestic, but with a yearning for something more. It’s a reminder that art doesn’t always need to shout to be heard, sometimes the quietest voices speak the loudest.