Landscape with poplars 1907

Editor: Here we have Auguste Herbin's "Landscape with Poplars," painted in 1907 using oil on canvas. What strikes me is its calm and reflective surface, almost like a still pond mirroring the sky. How do you interpret this work? Curator: This piece invites us to consider the cultural currents of early 20th-century France. Notice how Herbin, while influenced by Post-Impressionism, departs from its focus on optical realism. What statements can be made, particularly through landscape art, concerning a connection to nature in rapidly industrializing societies? Herbin seems less concerned with accurately representing a landscape and more interested in conveying an emotional response to it. What emotions come up for you? Editor: I feel a sense of peaceful isolation, maybe even a slight melancholy in those heavy tree reflections. Curator: That sense of isolation is key. Artists of this period often grapple with feelings of alienation from nature due to urbanization and social upheaval. But does the style give this alienation a certain appeal? Consider also Herbin's later engagement with abstraction; this landscape can be viewed as a step towards simplifying and abstracting forms, reflecting a broader cultural shift away from traditional modes of representation. Do you notice how certain traditional landscape components are emphasized versus discarded, hinting to future exploration with shapes and colour? Editor: That’s fascinating. I hadn’t considered how the move towards abstraction reflects broader social changes. Curator: Exactly. Art is never created in a vacuum. Understanding its historical and social context allows us to engage with it on a much deeper level. I now see the tension created with the push and pull between the abstract forms of the artist’s current moment in conjunction with its earlier, Impressionistic context. What a find. Editor: I definitely have a better appreciation for it now. Thanks for highlighting the social context.