A Landscape at the west Coast of Jutland 1941

Niels Bjerre made this landscape of the west coast of Jutland using oil on canvas. Look at the way Bjerre lays down these strokes of grey like the landscape is a collection of memories rather than a real place. I love how the sky is almost more solid than the land, and the houses are reduced to simple geometric shapes. There's a kind of dreamlike quality, as if we're seeing the scene through a haze. Now, focus on the way the rocks in the foreground are handled. See how Bjerre uses thick, chunky strokes to build up their form, yet the whole image remains flat, almost like a stage set. There's a tension between representation and abstraction that I find really compelling. It reminds me a bit of the early work of Marsden Hartley. It makes me wonder, doesn’t it, how we can find endless possibilities in something as simple as a landscape.