Hillside 1884

Curator: So, here we have Paul Gauguin's "Hillside," painted in 1884. It's currently held in a private collection. Editor: Wow, that's moody! It feels like I’m peering into a forest, all muted greens and shadows. A bit claustrophobic, perhaps. The texture looks really thick and luscious, though. Curator: Indeed, Gauguin employed a plein-air technique, which involved painting outdoors, capturing the immediate and fleeting impressions of the landscape. He was certainly experimenting with impressionist methods. Editor: You know, the way he's layered those greens almost vibrates. It's not a calm scene, is it? I feel a brewing storm, or maybe just the restlessness of nature itself. Are those cypress trees? They definitely add to the drama. They are reaching out with jagged fingers. Curator: There's some speculation around where the view is located, but the key is how this particular moment, its rendering and style, fit into Gauguin's broader trajectory. Remember he was moving away from impressionism around this time. He found it superficial, lacking deeper meaning. Editor: Hmm, a move towards finding that "deeper meaning," huh? I definitely feel that tension here. It’s like he's trying to wrestle something raw and untamed onto the canvas, instead of simply recording pretty light effects. It's interesting that while the colors could be happy they actually become foreboding and unsettling. Curator: And think about his trajectory; the subsequent move toward synthetism and symbolism after his time spent in Brittany and eventually, Tahiti. Here we see that process still evolving; impressionism is here, yet already it’s being reshaped. Editor: That absolutely checks out, seeing it as a sort of visual prelude makes sense. A landscape full of inner rumblings about to erupt into something radically different. It’s not just a hill; it's a launchpad! Curator: Precisely! "Hillside" represents that fascinating pivot point in his career. Editor: It has a way of lingering, that painting, doesn't it? I mean, you keep thinking you understand what you see at first glance, and then these dark currents keep bubbling up, as we have discussed. Now, where to next?