Pewsey Vale 1933

Hans Heysen made this landscape, Pewsey Vale, with watercolor, allowing light to bounce off the paper to create a soft and airy effect. I am struck by the way Heysen uses gentle washes of color to build up the landscape, one translucent layer at a time. It’s a testament to the physical properties of watercolor, how it pools and flows. Look closely and you can see how the green and brown washes blend, suggesting depth and shadow. Notice that he left some of the paper bare, and it shimmers behind the paint. His use of the materials creates a feeling of openness and light. I love the way the clouds mirror the hills in the distance, and the way the artist plays with warm and cool tones to give the composition balance. Heysen shares with someone like Cezanne an ambition to capture nature directly and translate its depth onto a 2D surface. Both artists ask us to consider landscape as more than just a picture.