Blick auf die Nordseite des Großglockners 1919

Edward Theodore Compton made this view of the North side of the Grossglockner, probably with oil on canvas. I see a process that’s about layering and building up, with a limited palette. Look at how Compton renders the snow. It’s not just white, is it? It’s all these subtle blues and grays and browns, capturing the way light hits the surface, the way the atmosphere affects what we see. The brushstrokes are soft, almost feathery, especially in the clouds, giving the whole scene a dreamlike quality. There’s a sense of depth, of air between the peaks. It feels immense and a bit lonely, doesn't it? I’m reminded of Caspar David Friedrich, who was working a bit earlier than Compton. Both were interested in the sublimity of nature, the feeling of being small in the face of something vast and powerful. But where Friedrich is more dramatic, Compton feels more serene. The way artists represent the natural world tells you about what they see, what they value, and, in turn, how we might think about our own place in the world.