Landscape with Cow 1924

Maggie Laubser painted this “Landscape with Cow” with oils, and what strikes me is how she builds the scene with these distinct, almost chunky strokes. It’s like she’s not just painting a landscape, but constructing it, piece by piece. The texture is so present, you can almost feel the bristles of the brush, especially in the foreground where the dark cow is grazing. The colours aren't blended smoothly but placed next to each other – greens, browns, blacks – which makes the whole scene vibrate with energy. Look closely at the bright yellow sun against the purple sky. That juxtaposition is so bold, it almost feels Fauvist, like a nod to Matisse. Laubser’s way of seeing and putting it down is really interesting to me. It reminds me a bit of Paula Modersohn-Becker who was making very similar landscapes at the turn of the century, interested in colour and rural simplicity. There’s something so immediate and honest about this kind of painting; it embraces uncertainty and invites us to see the world through fresh eyes.