Expressionist Landscape Visual Analysis
The chosen painting is a work of the German expressionist Hubert Roestenburg. The artist uses the colour and texture in order to achieve the effect of vividness and a dynamic composition in his painting.
The most significant feature of the landscape is the colour. Roestenburg uses the colours to underline and exaggerate the layers of the composition as well as the perspective. The expressive power of the colour score is achieved through massive distortion and combination of cold and warm tones to outline the scenery. The application of colours is absolutized in the classic expressionist tradition: the tones are of the mixed nature and are applied in a seemingly chaotic nature. Occasional strokes of warm ochroid colours in the sky, for instance, contrast with the overall obscure tone and reflect the land patterns.
The texture of the painting is of importance as well. The layers of paint applied to the canvas can be easily discerned. The brushstrokes are extensive and voluminous. There are also large expressive jabs that create the dynamic rhythm of the landscape representation. What is more, the use of a palette-knife can be traced on the painting. It helps organize the structural division of the composition and brings certain sharpness to the painting. Wave-shaped brushstrokes, especially on the left central side of the composition, in their turn, add to the naturally smooth shapes and forms that can be met in a landscape.
Overall, Roestenburg masterfully uses multiple expressionist painting techniques to introduce the picturesque and dynamic image of natural environment and add strong emotional value to it. While the textural and colour components are segmentary and heterogeneous, the impression of the landscape is unified and …
