Österreich c. 1943

Karl Wiener made this painting, Österreich, with what looks like gouache. Look at how the areas of colour are blocked in, quite flat and dense, making the image bold and graphic. I love the texture created by the layering of the paint, see the brushstrokes in the vivid blue of the sky. This gives the painting depth and makes the sky almost touchable. See how the light falls on the mountains; the artist uses white and grey tones to convey the planes of the rock, rendering the mountain both monumental and serene. It reminds me a bit of Lois Dodd’s landscapes, with its directness and simple forms. Both artists make use of a limited palette, reducing a scene to its bare essentials. It’s as if they both attempt to capture the feeling of a place, rather than just illustrating it. Art is about capturing those elusive emotional truths, isn't it?