Landscape from Hvitsten 1918 - 1919

Edvard Munch made this landscape painting, perhaps en plein air, with oil on canvas. Look at the way the brushstrokes move, almost like shorthand notes on the world. The foreground is dabbed with blocks of colour – browns, blues, yellows – each stroke a deliberate mark. I can imagine Munch standing there, wrestling with the scene, trying to capture the essence of the place. There’s a real feeling of the artist’s hand at work, pushing and pulling the paint. The horizon line is soft, blurred with pink and turquoise, fading into the distance. The water is depicted with horizontal strokes which suggest the movement and flow. It’s fascinating how he simplifies everything, reducing forms to their most basic elements, yet still managing to convey a sense of depth and atmosphere. I feel like he is in conversation with other artists like Van Gogh, each seeking to express their unique vision of the world through paint.