Landscape with Hills and Trees 1916

Janos Mattis-Teutsch made this landscape with hills and trees with what looks like oil paint, and a very particular way of seeing. The colors, like, acidic yellow and pink, with those lines that look a bit like squiggles, well, they aren’t trying to trick you with reality. Instead, he's building a different kind of reality. Look closely, you can see how he’s put the paint down in flat, distinct areas. Like a puzzle. These aren't blended or fussy. Each color vibrates on its own. See how those yellow lines in the foreground wiggle and dance, and how the greens seem to echo them? It feels like a beat. This reminds me of Hilma af Klint. Like her, Mattis-Teutsch isn’t trying to copy nature. He’s using color and form to create a feeling, a mood, a whole other world. It’s not about what you see, but what you feel. And that, my friend, is a conversation that’s been going on in art for ages.