Gaberndorf II 1924

Lyonel Feininger made this oil painting of a town, Gaberndorf II. The palette is a bit like early synthetic cubism, with its ochres, greens and blues, but there's something else going on. Notice how the geometry kind of shimmers? It's like the light is making its way through the whole picture, almost like light through stained glass, or light refracted through prisms. Look at how the planes create a sense of depth without traditional perspective. The paint isn't too thick; it’s almost translucent in places, which adds to this sense of light and space. There's a kind of angular lyricism to it all. Feininger was part of the Bauhaus movement, and you can see how he's breaking down the landscape into these abstract forms, but there's still a real sense of place. Artists like Paul Klee were working with similar ideas at the time, embracing abstraction while trying to evoke a feeling or atmosphere. For me, this piece is more about capturing a mood, an atmosphere, rather than representing the town exactly as it is.