Days End 1989

Eyvind Earle made this painting, Days End, and right away I’m struck by how he builds this detailed landscape. The black tree in the foreground is like a stage curtain that gives way to an opening. There’s a real push-pull here, especially in the way Earle alternates dark and light areas. It’s almost like he’s built up a series of theatrical flats, layered one behind the other, receding into the distance. And then there’s that light green running through the center! I’m so curious about the way Earle has handled the paint. Look at that band of light running diagonally across the canvas; he creates a sense of depth, but also flattens things out, almost like he’s collaging different perspectives together. I see some echoes of someone like Arthur Dove, who also found a way to suggest the vastness of landscape, while still letting the viewer feel the materiality of the paint. In the end, both are testaments to the way art is really a conversation across time.