October Summer 1904

Emil Carlsen's "October Summer" is a painting that captures a landscape through a softened, atmospheric lens. The composition is structured around broad, horizontal planes of color that evoke a serene and melancholic mood. The ochre and amber hues dominate, suggesting a scene bathed in the warm, fading light of late autumn. Carlsen's brushwork is loose, with layered textures that create a hazy effect, blurring the distinction between earth and sky. Three slender trees stand as vertical counterpoints, their delicate forms reaching towards the sky. Carlsen appears less interested in the precise representation of nature, and more focused on conveying the feeling of a season through color and light. The scene’s gentle arrangement and diffused light evokes a sense of quiet contemplation. It reflects the Symbolist movement that valued subjective emotional experience over realistic depiction. Here, the landscape isn't just a place, it's a state of mind.