Landscape at Monaco 1953

Bernard Buffet made this landscape of Monaco with ink on paper, though we don’t know exactly when. The overall mood is kind of somber, don’t you think? It’s built up from these really intense, almost frantic marks. The landscape is formed by the density and direction of the lines; a bit like knitted thread, but with ink. Look at that sky, how it almost seems to be raining lines! The thing about artmaking is, you’re always chasing something. And Buffet seems to be grappling with how to capture space and light through this obsessive mark-making. The starkness and intensity reminds me a bit of Käthe Kollwitz, but with a landscape instead of figures. There’s a kind of rawness here that invites you to bring your own feelings to it. It’s open, not closed, and full of possibilities.