Tree Trunks. Arresødal near Frederiksværk, North Zealand 1904

Vilhelm Hammershøi made this painting of “Tree Trunks, Arresødal near Frederiksværk, North Zealand” with oil on canvas, and it feels like he mixed his colours right there, on the canvas. The painting’s surface is all about the material properties of oil paint, thin layers in muted browns and greys that create a hazy, dreamlike atmosphere. It’s as though the trees are emerging from a mist, or maybe sinking back into it. The brushwork isn't showy, it's subdued. Look closely at the way the light filters through the trees in the background, it’s built up with tiny, delicate strokes, a real exercise in restraint. Hammershøi reminds me of Morandi, both of them had this knack for finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. They both show us that art is not about grand gestures but about the quiet poetry of seeing.