Autumn in the Slanca valley 1905 - 1909

Ľudovít Čordák painted this landscape, Autumn in the Slanca valley, with oil on canvas at an unknown date. The composition evokes a landscape fading into an obscured background, with a foreground featuring open fields and lone trees, suffused with the golden hues of autumn. The brushwork feels searching, with gentle strokes that build form, allowing the artist to capture the sensation of a serene afternoon. I wonder if Čordák worked on this piece on site, in the valley itself, or if this painting represents an accumulation of memories. I can imagine him working on it, outside, squinting and struggling to see. I see a little figure halfway up the hill; maybe that's his wife. There is a certain stillness to the picture but, at the same time, I sense the breeze in the trees, so I feel like something is moving and changing here. Čordák was an impressionist, but this picture makes me think about all the landscape painters who've ever worked outside, maybe trying to capture something that can't really be captured. The fact that we are still trying, still painting, is a testament to the generative possibilities of art.