Landscape 1893

Nikolaos Gyzis made this landscape painting with watercolor, a medium known for its transparency and fluidity. The way the colors blend and bleed into each other gives the scene a dreamlike quality, and the use of watercolor allows Gyzis to capture the subtle variations in light and atmosphere. Think of watercolor less as "paint" and more like "dyeing" the paper surface. The material is not sitting on the surface, like oil paint would, but becomes one with the surface, in an intimate way. It is a tricky medium to master, but it rewards patient and careful labor. In Gyzis's hands, watercolor isn't just a medium; it is a way to evoke the essence of the landscape itself. Understanding this material dimension enriches our understanding of the artist's vision.