SZINYEI MERSE, Pál
(1845, Szinyeújfalu - 1920, Jernye)

Autumnal Landscape

1900
Oil on canvas, 70,5 x 91,5 cm
Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest

Ever since his earliest works, Szinyei strived for the pureness and simplicity of composition. He soon discovered the diagonal composition which best suited the gestures and the characters of his models: more apparent or more concealed, variations of this compositional method can be discovered in most of Szinyei's paintings.

"Autumnal Landscape" is the result of the artist's grandiose view of Nature. It resembles "Melting Snow" (1894-1895 Hungarian National Gallery), the earliest masterpiece of Hungarian Realist landscape painting, more than anything else, especially with regard to the angle of view, the format, and the proportion of sky and earth. However, the mood of "Autumnal Landscape" is a lot more cheerful. The large mass of the freshly ploughed land, which occupy the greater part of the picture, is meant to serve as a heavy foundation for the colourful view of the country unfolding in the background. Such a powerful representation of the soil is unique is contemporary European art. In spite of their proximity to Nature, even members of the Barbizon School and their followers were unable to produce such an artless and forceful representation of Nature exposed.


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