First Ascent of Monte Domapozza in the Dolomites 1911

Moriz Jung made this strange image of a mountain ascent sometime before 1915. It’s got these flat blocks of color and crisp outlines—blues for the rocks, oranges for the sky, and the climber in green. I’m imagining Jung in his studio, maybe in Vienna, working out the logistics of this impossible scene. The climber dangling from a rope attached to a biplane, another figure waiting on the cliff, and a goat just chillin' at the very top. There’s something so absurd about it all, like a dream logic where anything is possible, but it’s also beautifully designed and visually arresting. The blue of the mountain looks almost edible. This reminds me a little of the Surrealists, who were also interested in dreams and the subconscious. It makes me wonder what else Jung was looking at, who else was trying to capture the feeling of being alive in such a strange and disorienting time. Artists are always responding to each other, riffing on ideas, and pushing the boundaries of what art can be.