Puits en Provence 1943

Roger Vieillard made this print of a well in Provence with ink on paper. I can only imagine him working on the metal plate, scratching lines to create this image and thinking about the light in the South of France. I love the flat plane of the landscape, but then the depth suggested by the hill in the background. Then there is the odd structure around the well, like a minimal cube, maybe a place to dry herbs. There is so much air and space in this composition and a feeling of calm. I wonder, did this scene remind him of other artists he admired? Maybe Cezanne? Or Matisse? I bet he was thinking about line and tone, and how to create a feeling of place with very few marks. Artists are constantly referencing and responding to each other, remixing and reimagining what has come before. It is such a lovely conversation.