Landscape with Houses 1930

Adalbert Erdeli created this ‘Landscape with Houses’ using oil paints, a traditional fine art material. Erdeli applied thick layers of paint onto the canvas, creating a textured surface. The vibrant greens, yellows, and blues dominate the composition. Look at the way Erdeli built up the paint, using expressive brushstrokes to capture the play of light on the buildings and foliage. The colours and rough handling of the paint give the painting a sense of immediacy, as if Erdeli was trying to capture a fleeting moment. Oil paints are tied to the history of fine art, but the labour involved in their production and use connects to wider social issues. The creation of the pigments, the preparation of the canvas, and the act of painting itself all involve physical work. By focusing on the materials and processes, we can appreciate the skill and effort that went into this painting, and recognize the value of both art and craft.