Træstudie. 1913

This tree study was made by Othon Friesz, and it’s a watercolour that seems to have been made fairly quickly. Look at these brushtrokes, the hatched marks, the way the paint bleeds into the paper. It feels spontaneous and off-the-cuff, capturing the way light glances off the bark and branches. There’s a real physicality to the way he’s applied the paint, especially where the greens and browns meet; the texture is built up in layers, creating depth and shadow. Notice how he uses these marks to suggest form. Take the dark green outline on the lower right that becomes the curve of a branch. It’s so simple, yet so effective. It reminds me a bit of Cézanne's watercolors, but with a Fauvist twist. Friesz really makes it his own, embracing the fluidity of the medium to capture the essence of the tree in a way that feels both immediate and timeless. It's about capturing the feeling of being in nature, not just a literal depiction.