Dogs in a Landscape 1935 - 1944

Arnold Peter Weisz-Kubínčan made this painting of dogs in a landscape using oil paint on some kind of board. What a painterly painting! Looking at these brushstrokes I can just imagine the artist dabbing and swirling and dragging the paint, building up these dogs from patches of warm color. The paint is pretty thin, and I can see how Weisz-Kubínčan has let the color of the board come through in places, which makes the dogs feel kind of embedded in the landscape. I'm particularly drawn to that dog sitting upright – the one with the long pink tongue lolling out. It looks as though he has captured a really fleeting gesture, like the dog has suddenly perked up and is listening intently to something. It reminds me of some of those animal paintings by Franz Marc. Painters are always looking at each other’s work, learning from and riffing on each other's ideas, and Weisz-Kubínčan is part of that conversation. And the best thing about painting is that it’s open to interpretation, there’s no right or wrong way to respond.