Ruins of the Jupiter Temple in Athens 1904

Tivadar Kosztka Csontvary painted this view of the Ruins of the Jupiter Temple in Athens, but when I don’t know and neither do you! Look at the way the paint is applied, scrubby and dry, it feels like the process of seeing and recording were one and the same for the artist, like he was racing to capture a fleeting moment. The colors are a bit odd, but I think that adds to the feeling of this strange scene. The mountains are this dreamy purple, and the columns glow with an inner light. I’m drawn to the way he painted the sky: these horizontal strokes create a texture that's almost like fabric. It's a little bit awkward, but it’s also what makes the work so compelling. Maybe that single moon is like an idea or question hanging in the air. The way he rendered the temple reminds me a little of Giorgio de Chirico’s dreamscapes, there is a similar feeling of stillness, even mystery. It’s a painting that invites you to linger and imagine what this place was, or could be.