Winter 1910

Vilhelms Purvitis painted ‘Winter’ with oils, and, honestly, it's got that feeling of a landscape remembered rather than directly observed. There's something tender about the paint application, like a constant building up of layers. Look at how he renders the trees: those clusters of lines suggesting branches, it’s almost like he’s knitting them together. Up close, the surface is a mix of small brushstrokes and soft blends, giving the whole piece this shimmering, almost ethereal quality. Notice the reflection of light on the water? It's not just light, it’s this physical, palpable thing sitting right on the surface of the painting. Purvitis was deeply influenced by the Russian landscape painters, like Isaac Levitan, but he brings his own distinctly Baltic sensibility. It's this combination of realism and dreaminess that keeps me coming back to his work, always finding something new to see and feel.