Yellow Landscape 1918

Janos Mattis-Teutsch made this painting, Yellow Landscape, with oil on canvas, and what strikes me is the total freedom of it. It's like he’s saying, "Here's my world, painted the way I feel it." The brushwork is so direct, so unpretentious, and the colors—that acid yellow against the moody purples and greens—create this vibrating, almost psychedelic space. There's a tree, or what I think is a tree, in the foreground. See how the trunk curves, and how the limbs are just these quick, gestural marks? It's not about representation; it’s about energy. The paint itself looks buttery, thick in some places, thin in others, like he’s pushing it around, letting it do its thing. Looking at the overall colour palette and free handling of paint, I'm reminded of Milton Avery who also had this knack for simplifying forms and amplifying colours to their emotional extreme. Mattis-Teutsch’s painting isn’t trying to be anything other than what it is: a bold, unapologetic burst of feeling made visible.