Central Australia Landscape 1939

Albert Namatjira made this watercolour, Central Australia Landscape, at some point in his career. The colours are soft, the palette muted, like a memory slowly fading. But look closer: the ochres and reds of the rock formations push forward, solid, while the violets and blues recede, creating depth. Namatjira knew what he was doing. Notice how he’s built up the image with thin washes of colour, layering and layering until the landscape emerges. It’s almost like he’s coaxing the image into being. There's an amazing passage in the bottom right hand corner, where the blue wash of a shadow cuts across the paper. It makes you wonder what kind of brush he used. This gives the painting a very immediate, tangible feeling. Namatjira reminds me a bit of Agnes Martin, in that his landscapes become almost abstract meditations on space and color. Ultimately, these artworks open a space of imagination.