Landscape in Arges Valley 1959

Henri Catargi’s ‘Landscape in Arges Valley’ is a small oil painting, probably made in 1959. Look at those strokes of ochre and brown wrestling across the canvas, they look so immediate. The sky is painted with thin blue washes, and the paint application in the lower half is thicker, almost muddy. I can imagine Catargi outdoors with his easel, trying to capture the essence of the valley. What was he thinking, what was he feeling as he dabbed and swirled the paint, trying to record his vision? That central tree-like form, it's almost comical, like a big, bushy eyebrow on the landscape. It reminds me of some of Guston's later works, but with a slightly more romantic vibe. Painting is a conversation through time, isn't it? A painter sees a landscape by someone else and responds to it in their own way. There’s uncertainty here, like the artist didn’t quite know where he was going, but that’s what makes it feel alive, like a real, observed moment.