Waxenstein Peaks, Garmisch-Partenkirchen c. 1933 - 1934

Marsden Hartley made this landscape painting, Waxenstein Peaks, with what looks like a pretty limited palette: mostly grays, blues, and whites, layered to describe form, light, and shadow. It’s all about the process of seeing and responding. Up close, you can see how the paint is applied, kind of scrubbed on in places, especially in the sky and on the mountains themselves. Hartley doesn’t try to hide the marks; they’re part of the experience. Look at the way he defines the peaks, not with hard lines, but with these soft, blended strokes that suggest the play of light on snow. And then, in contrast, the trees in the foreground are rendered with more vertical, decisive strokes, creating a sense of depth and texture. It’s like he’s inviting you to feel the cold air and the rough texture of the landscape. Hartley's approach to landscape, particularly in his later works, reminds me of the emotional intensity and bold simplicity of someone like Milton Avery. Both artists found ways to distill their experiences of nature into something deeply personal and expressive.