Naturstudie III 1924

Karl Wiener created this watercolor painting, Naturstudie III, sometime between 1901 and 1949. He has built up layers of translucent pigment, manipulating the flow of the water to suggest cloud formations and the undulation of a dark, almost black horizon. The nature of watercolor lends itself to atmospheric studies like this. There's a fluidity, a sense of immediacy and light, that would be harder to achieve in other mediums. The paper itself is crucial. It allows the colors to subtly bloom, to spread out and interact in ways that give the painting its dynamic quality. Consider the speed and portability of this medium, compared to say, oil painting. Watercolor became the choice of field scientists needing to quickly record their observations. It also became popular with amateur artists, part of a leisure pursuit. Wiener's Naturstudie III, though, reminds us that even the humblest materials, expertly handled, can yield a rich and expressive result.