Duinlandschap met kudde 1872 - 1944

Frans Smissaert made this watercolor painting of a dune landscape with cattle. It's all washes, light and open. Look at those clouds, how they seem to hover and shift, mirroring the herds of cattle, reduced to a dark smudge on the horizon. I imagine Smissaert outside, in the field, quickly trying to capture the light as it changes. A bit like how I feel when I paint, trying to pin down something that is fleeting and in motion. What was he thinking? Probably about how hard it is to make a painting, how to make it feel right! The quick strokes of the brush and muted color palette give the painting a sense of atmosphere and distance. I appreciate how he captured the feeling of being in nature. It reminds me of other painters like Constable and Turner, who were also interested in capturing the sublime beauty of the natural world. These artists are all in conversation, each building upon the work of those who came before, each adding their own unique perspective to the ongoing exploration of painting.