Estrada Rural 1912

Harald Sohlberg painted Estrada Rural with oils, and look at how he’s layered the colors – it’s like he's building the landscape right in front of us! Notice the rough texture of the paint, especially in the sky. It’s almost as if you can feel the coolness of the evening air. The colors are layered, like glazed watercolor. It's so thin! The dark tree up in the right hand corner really stands out against the pinks and oranges of the sky. It's a really clever way to make the whole image pop. Sohlberg has a way of making the ordinary seem extraordinary. He kind of reminds me of Marsden Hartley in that way. He reminds us that art doesn't always have to be about big statements. Sometimes it's about finding beauty in the simplest things. And that's a message I can definitely get behind.