An oldie but goodie for me.
Although Egon Schiele is mostly known for his human figures and erotics, he has some very interesting landscapes and other vistas.
In the early 1900's he did a series that of houses and nature that present a really interesting side of him. This one has awesome colors:
These were in Krumau, Bohemia. [Krumau- Crescent of Houses (The Small City V)], I like how little signs of "life" soften the painting, as well as the drawing closer brings you uneven ground, imperfection, even that wet-cardboard shack look. It never crosses over into ugly. It still makes sense considering the rest of the structures.
And so it makes me think, about the illusion of security we all have, and how pulling in closer means less firm answers, yet more signs of habitation, clothes, etc. And these things, they co-exist, they're not polar opposites, but realities in a constant dance with each other.
And I also like seeing human settlements per se and how they've changed through the years. What have we lost by stepping away from this kind of density?
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