Original link: https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/dailyartartwork/img-202209026311e4d9cfd6f
Dutch painter Leo Gestel initially studied light in indoor settings, but in the summer of 1909 he moved outdoors. He painted along the rivers near Amsterdam and found a home in rural areas near Nijmegen and Montfort. Depicting landscapes enabled him to express himself more powerfully. Nature has provided him with many fascinating light effects: sunlight, moonlight, shadows and fog. There, he discovered a fascinating theme, the union of trees and clouds.
In his early years, Gerstel painted landscapes mainly in the Impressionist style. He was drawn to images of a particular moment of the day, such as a sunset landscape. In 1909, Gerstel repeatedly painted the landscape around Montfort, “The sky keeps changing”. “Landscape near Montfort” is the most expressive of them all, and its low-horizon composition still looks traditional. In this work, however, he renders the scene with bright colors and striking brushstrokes. Gerstel believes that color is “the most powerful factor in the art of painting”. This painting is probably one of the most extreme in terms of colour from his early Light School period. There is a strong visual effect, perhaps by “putting the colors together: intense yellows and oranges with blues and purples”. Here, he applies the color theory of contrasts. While not always side-by-side, complementary colors orange and blue can be seen in the sky, along with yellow and purple. Reds and greens gleamed in the fields below. Intense skies are made up of broad, sometimes impulsive brushstrokes. These stand out against the dark horizon, bathed in yellow and orange silhouettes in sunlight.
Between 1909 and 1910, Gerstel spent two years trying to make his work more sensitive and “spiritual,” and his colour expression increased. Beginning in 1911, he developed a style of simplified forms that would later become Cubism, but color was always a fundamental element. Gerstel was one of the most important modern Dutch painters of that era.
We would like to thank the Kröller-Müller Museum for sharing today’s work with us. <3
Side note: Did you know that the Kröller-Müller Museum has an impressive collection of Dutch modern art? Among them is the largest Van Gogh collection outside of Amsterdam! :O
P.S. We love the scenery like this. I’ll admit to you that our Daily Art 2023 calendars (monthly and weekly), are full of great works like this; don’t miss them! : )
55.5 x 70.5 cm
Kröller-Müller Museum
This article is reproduced from: https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/dailyartartwork/img-202209026311e4d9cfd6f
This site is for inclusion only, and the copyright belongs to the original author.