Greenlanders (Near Godhavn) 1932

Rockwell Kent's "Greenlanders (Near Godhavn)" is a painting seemingly made with the quiet precision of egg tempera, even though it is most likely oil paint. Kent builds up form like a draughtsman, with careful gradations and distinct, clean edges. The colors—deep blues, soft pinks, and the muted browns of the landscape—feel both naturalistic and a little surreal. Look at the way the light hits the mountains, casting long shadows that define their shape with almost geometric clarity. It's as if Kent is trying to capture the essence of this place, the feeling of the cold air, the vastness of the sky, the solidity of the land. But it is also abstracted in such a way, with so much smoothing, that it makes the image dreamlike. I think it’s fair to put Kent in conversation with someone like Edward Hopper: they both depict America with such striking clarity and isolation. And just like Hopper, Kent transforms the real into a landscape of the mind.