Rocky Shore in the Sun, Porto Fino 1920

Curator: Oh, I find myself transported. This is “Rocky Shore in the Sun, Porto Fino,” painted in 1920 by Magnus Enckell. He captured this landscape with oil paint, thick impasto… you can almost feel the sunlight. Editor: My first impression? A shimmering, dreamy unreality. The figures look caught between solidity and mirage. Is it just me or do the cliffs look like faces? Curator: You’ve zeroed in on the emotional undercurrent. Enckell was a master of conveying complex emotions. Those rocks, for instance, aren't just geological formations; they carry a certain… weight. There's a reason he’s seen as something of a father of Finnish expressionism. Editor: Right, that heavy impasto, those somewhat lurid blues in the water… They’re evocative of some inner world. I'm interested in how he contrasts the timelessness of the landscape with the fleeting presence of these figures on the shore. Like a visual memento mori? Curator: Absolutely. Landscape is rarely just "landscape." Think about the golden ratio at work; the position of the sun creating these shadows… And notice how the artist sets up a narrative tension between the dark cliff-faces and the light figures; what do you think is going on? Editor: It seems the shadows here almost suggest an escape from that very bright, unforgiving light of modernity; an embrace of mystery… the painting has, at least for me, a melancholy about it. Curator: And, of course, shadow and light are very familiar concepts within expressionist, as within most traditions, in a metaphorical sense; with light being revelation. With Porto Fino being situated on a remote location of the world and thus separated from this modern "light," there is surely meaning there. I tend to imagine Enckell returning to the light in stages; never rushing but instead considering the deeper symbolism, for an audience ready for more abstract concepts. Editor: It really underscores how deeply visual culture encodes meaning. Looking closer makes the experience even more complex! Thanks for drawing that out for me. Curator: It has been a joy examining the power of the image.