Kangaroo in Landscape 1937

Albert Namatjira painted this landscape in watercolor, and I am struck by the scene of an arid Australian landscape with a kangaroo bounding through it. I think about Namatjira and what he was thinking as he made this; he was one of the first Aboriginal artists to paint in a contemporary Western style, and I am sure he was acutely aware of his position as an artist working between cultures. I’m drawn to the subtle blues of the mountains and the kangaroo; notice how he’s captured the animal's energy, as well as the distinctive light and colors of his homeland. The brushstrokes seem soft, and the colors are translucent washes laid one on top of another. This work reminds me of other landscape painters like Van Gogh or Cezanne, and how they found ways to express a personal connection to their surroundings, each contributing to an ongoing, evolving language of painting.