Violet Landscape 1917

Janos Mattis-Teutsch made this oil painting, Violet Landscape, with a bold approach to color and simple forms. There’s an emphasis on process here; you can see how the paint has been applied, layer after layer, to create the rolling landscape. The texture is smooth but the brushstrokes are visible, especially in the way the pink trees stand out against the smoky-blue sky. The paint is opaque, giving the painting a solid, grounded feel. Look at how the lines of dark green follow the curves of the violet hills, defining their shapes. It's almost like he’s mapping out an emotional terrain as much as a physical one. Mattis-Teutsch’s interest in expressionism and abstraction reminds me of Hilma af Klint. Like her, he seems interested in how forms and colors can evoke inner states, a landscape of the mind as much as a scene from nature. Art like this isn't about fixed meanings, but about opening up possibilities for feeling and seeing differently.