Winter Landscape 1942

Dumitru Ghiatza created this landscape with oil paints, and although the date is unknown, the scene is clearly winter. The charm of this piece lies in its simplicity, a quality I admire, and in the way the brushstrokes are visible, almost like a sketch brought to life with colour. The texture is quite apparent, you can see how the paint sits on the surface, especially in the snow-laden roofs and the trees. There’s a rawness, a sort of directness in the way Ghiatza applied the paint, not trying to blend too much, but letting each stroke contribute to the overall image. Look closely at the way he painted the horse; it’s almost blocky, with distinct areas of brown and white coming together to suggest its form. It reminds me a bit of some early Fauvist paintings, where colour and brushstroke took precedence over realism. Ultimately, art is a conversation, an exchange of ideas across time, and Ghiatza, like many artists, embraces the beauty of ambiguity.