Italienske bygninger 1920 - 1924

Gudrun Traustedt made this watercolour painting called ‘Italienske Bygninger,’ or ‘Italian Buildings’, on paper, but we don’t know exactly when. The blush pink of the buildings is so delicate. And then that smudge of blue hovering above, is it the sky? Or some other kind of atmospheric presence? The paint is so thin and transparent, it's like she’s barely touched the surface, letting the light of the paper shine through. See how the washes pool and bleed into each other, creating these soft, blurry edges? It’s as if Traustedt is more interested in capturing a feeling, a fleeting impression, than a detailed record of the scene. That jagged edge in the blue is fascinating, it disrupts any easy reading of the image. It reminds me a little of Hilma af Klint, another Scandinavian artist who died too young, and was interested in accessing other realms through her art. Ultimately, the work embraces the beauty of imperfection, inviting us to find our own meaning within its fluid forms.