Beech Forest 1901

Albert Edelfelt made this painting, *Beech Forest*, using watercolour. Watercolour can sometimes feel uptight, but not here. Edelfelt lays down loose strokes of colour to build a scene of dappled light. There is so much depth created with colour alone. Look at the way he renders the trees in the foreground, they almost appear blue. They are painted with strokes that bend and curve in a way that feels alive. The brushstrokes that create the ground are much more rigid, and guide your eye into the painting. Edelfelt painted this forest like he was walking through it. This reminds me of the work of another Scandinavian painter, Vilhelm Hammershoi, but here there is so much more energy. We can only see the forest through the experience of the painter, and with the quick, expressive brushstrokes and evocative colour, Edelfelt invites us in.