Landscape

Johannes Greenberg has been considered one of the most colour-sensitive artists in the history of Estonian art. It is interesting to note in this painting how Greenberg’s colouring, which as a rule is airy and rich in nuances, is vigorous and expressive here. It is possible that the restless frames of mind of 1939 – the year in which this painting was completed – are also reflected in its surprising colour combination. Greenberg was extremely receptive in terms of the surrounding political conditions, and thus subconscious impulses could have guided his hand in his choice of colours. The scene – a landscape – is also more of an exception in Greenberg’s creative work, since we know him first and foremost as more of a creator of figurative paintings.