Untitled (Central Australian Landscape) 1955

Albert Namatjira made this watercolor landscape of central Australia. Look at those washes of ochre and burnt sienna, laid down with such fluidity, but then given structure with those firm dark lines. It’s like he's mapping the contours of the land but also the feeling of being there. You can imagine Namatjira out in the landscape, squinting in the strong sunlight, trying to capture the immensity of the place with his brush. I wonder if he felt like he could ever really get it down, the hugeness and the stillness? That dark, almost indigo line that defines the edge of the rock face—it’s so decisive, so sure. It reminds me of some of Cézanne's mark-making, that same searching for the right line to hold the form together. Maybe Albert was looking at Cézanne. Artists are always in conversation, pinching ideas from each other across time. Painting is so great because it’s a constant experiment, you never know where it’s going to take you.