Landscape with Mountains 1916

Curator: Janos Mattis-Teutsch's "Landscape with Mountains," painted in 1916, immediately strikes me. What's your initial response? Editor: It feels almost childlike in its simplicity, and the colours, mostly applied with single brushstrokes of oil paint on what looks like an unprimed canvas, are very pale and watery. Curator: Mattis-Teutsch's engagement with expressionism often reflected a profound spiritual yearning. He worked within artistic circles deeply affected by the socio-political upheavals of the early 20th century, navigating cultural identities and conflicts, and his Romanian-Hungarian background certainly placed him within an interesting intersection of national identity and artistic innovation. Editor: Yes, the brushwork really underlines the immediacy and what feels like speed, as if capturing something quickly that might evaporate. What do you make of the raw canvas showing through the thin paint layers? It’s integral to the final artwork. Curator: The use of these seemingly simple forms—the abstracted mountains and sky—invites us to consider the deeper currents of expressionism at the time. There's a reach for something beyond representation here, I think, related to a sense of universal consciousness that’s definitely relevant, connecting this artist’s work with the politics of representation then and today. Editor: Absolutely, and you can also consider the material realities in this case. In 1916, oil paint on canvas wasn't necessarily readily available or affordable, particularly given wider conflicts. I wonder whether there was a direct choice here, of working with humble material means as part of the whole message. Curator: Right, it allows him, and by extension us, to consider those political realities, which in this particular picture, could have even reflected hope in troubled times. Editor: Perhaps that’s not the main emphasis, I'd suggest we appreciate this work primarily for the very interesting artistic process. The relationship between making, materiality, and subject makes this a pretty unusual work of art. Curator: I’m glad that the canvas and his brushstrokes are what make you pause, offering a modern understanding rooted in the complex histories. Editor: Exactly, considering all aspects surrounding artistic creation opens new windows to engage the social dynamics in a creative dialogue, connecting a new artistic, perhaps revolutionary perspective with its own time.