Southern harbor 1924

Sven Jonson painted "Southern Harbor" using oil with simple marks to portray a stillness. It’s interesting to see the marks he leaves, the layering and blending. Painting is like a conversation, right? You put down a mark, then you respond to it, and so on. Here, the texture of the paint itself feels smooth, the brushstrokes are blended. The colors are muted, grayed out. I am drawn to the blue of the jacket, how it contrasts with the steps, and how it is also reflected in the painting. I like that Jonson focused on the everyday. To focus on labor and the mundane is to value it. It’s like early Giorgio de Chirico, but less uncanny. Both artists see the world as made up of simple, geometric shapes. Ultimately, this harbor scene is what you see and what you bring to it, isn't it? A painting is never really finished, not while people are still looking.