Waldlandschaft 1907

Richard Friese’s Waldlandschaft is an oil painting made without a specific date that captures a dense wooded scene, rendered in earth tones and muted greens. I like to imagine Friese standing there, in the thick of it, squinting a little, as he works at speed, trying to capture the light as it filters through the trees. See how he’s built up layers of paint to create a dense, almost impenetrable thicket of branches and foliage? The paint isn't too thick, but the way he's applied it, in short, staccato strokes, gives the whole surface a kind of restless energy. There’s a tension here that reminds me of Courbet, a contemporary of Friese, in the way it balances observation with a kind of internal feeling, you know? A gesture, repeated, is all the way from the shoulder, all the way from the soul! Painters, we’re all just copying each other, stealing, and sharing little bits, back and forth through time.