Landscape near Bistrup 1918

Harald Giersing made this smallish landscape painting on canvas with oil paints in shades of blue and green. I wonder what it was like for him to stand in that field, squinting at the light, mixing up those blues and greens, trying to get a feel for that place. Giersing lays down these colours in blocks; thick juicy strokes of blue, building up this hazy light. The trees are like lozenges lined up on top of each other, like dark-green bonbons. The lighter green paint sits on the surface, and the brushwork really holds your eye. These aren’t thin washes of color, but hearty slabs of pigment. I’m reminded of Derain and Cezanne when I look at this painting. Artists are always in conversation with each other across time, and this is just one painter’s way of seeing the world, making a place through their own hand. It's almost as though the making of the painting is just as important as the scene it depicts.