Fjord Landscape 1901

Kitty Lange Kielland made this “Fjord Landscape” with oil paint, sometime around the late 19th century. What I love about it is how the marks are so present, like a diary of her looking and feeling. There’s a real material honesty here. You can see how she built up the leaves in the foreground with these little dabs of paint – strokes of yellow ochre and muted greens, almost like she’s letting the landscape emerge, rather than dictating it. That boat on the right, it's a shadowy presence, heavy and still in the water. The brushwork is loose, kind of dragging the paint to suggest the texture of weathered wood and the stillness of the water. The colors are all hushed tones, a symphony of greys and greens, which gives the painting this quiet, contemplative mood. Looking at this painting reminds me of Corot, that same quietness, that attention to tone and mood. And it reminds me that painting is always a conversation with the past.