Landscape in Chassy 1957

Editor: This is "Landscape in Chassy," painted by Balthus in 1957 using oil paints. There's a dreamlike quality to this scene; a building is situated on the left with rolling hills. What does this landscape evoke for you? Curator: What strikes me is how Balthus engages with the traditions of landscape painting, particularly within the socio-political context of postwar Europe. Many artists at the time grappled with representing a world marked by destruction and uncertainty. Landscape painting, often associated with ideas of national identity and stability, became a site for re-evaluating these concepts. Do you notice any element that recalls those elements? Editor: Perhaps the rather muted palette. It’s not overtly bleak, but there is definitely an absence of vibrant color, adding to that feeling you mentioned, of instability. Curator: Exactly! Consider the public role of landscape painting. Historically, it has served to reinforce dominant narratives about land ownership and national pride. However, after the devastation of WWII, the representation of land became more complicated. Also, this perspective: is Balthus inviting us to possess this view or merely consider its history? Editor: That's fascinating, it’s almost as if he is holding the land itself in question! Curator: Precisely. Balthus compels us to consider what role the artist had to play to remind a war-ridden Europe what existed and may exist after devastation. And more subtly what social meaning landscape represents as a cultural ideal. Editor: This reminds me of the shifting public role of art itself after the war. The responsibility of artists grew tremendously! Curator: Indeed! Thinking about how socio-political and cultural forces influence art and how art, in turn, reflects and shapes our understanding of these forces adds another layer to the appreciation of landscape as this genre reinvents itself after war. Editor: I’ll definitely view landscapes with new eyes after this conversation. Thank you!