Ziedonis 1930

Vilhelms Purvitis created 'Ziedonis' with oil paints. The dabs of colour vibrate on the canvas, as if the paint was laid down in the very orchard it depicts. It looks like the painting came into being by the artist shifting and squinting to capture the light. I sympathize with Purvitis here. I imagine he wanted to express more than just a scene, but the feeling of it, of spring. You can see how the physicality of the medium shapes our experience. The paint is applied quite thickly. Those small gestures build up the bigger picture in the same way each spring blossom adds up to a tree full of flowers. It reminds me of the Impressionists, like Monet, who were also obsessed with capturing light and fleeting moments in time. Artists are always in an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time. Painting is a form of embodied expression which embraces ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations. I love this.