April at Lillehammer 1905

Frederik Collett made this painting of a landscape in Lillehammer probably in oils and maybe with charcoal too, though it's hard to say exactly. The restrained palette here is just beautiful. It's a study in greys, blacks and whites, and you can see the marks of the brushstrokes making a kind of dance across the canvas. It's like Collett is feeling his way through the scene, letting the paint do some of the work. The materiality of the medium is very apparent in the contrast between the thin layers of diluted paint and the opaque dabs suggesting highlights in the snow. Look at the way the trees are rendered, just a few quick strokes, but they totally evoke the feeling of a stark, bare landscape. There's something about the way he captures the light reflecting off the water that really gets to me. It reminds me a little of Whistler, but with a more grounded, earthy feel. It shows how much can be done with so little, and invites us to slow down and really look at the world around us.