Free Trappers 1911

Charles M. Russell made this atmospheric painting, Free Trappers, sometime during his career. The purple shadows in the mountain range set the tone, and it feels like the artist layered different shades to create depth. I’m wondering if he felt the same when he made it, trying to capture the vastness of the landscape. I like that the paint handling has a looseness which makes it feel so contemporary. I also love that the brushwork in the foreground creates a kind of abstract pattern. Maybe he thought of the trappers as lone wanderers in a big world. He clearly looked at other painters such as Delacroix, whose paintings of North Africa use a similar tonality. It’s like artists are always in conversation with one another. Painting can be about capturing a moment, but maybe it's also about feeling the passage of time. It embraces that uncertainty, like the landscape itself.