I will always choose

I will always choose a lazy person to do a difficult job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it… (Bill Gates)

Paul Cézanne: Mont Sainte-Victoire

Paul Cézanne (1839-1906): Mont Sainte-Victoire (c.1905-06) This is one of the last landscapes of Mont Sainte-Victoire, favored by Cézanne at the end of his life… The view is rendered in what is essentially an abstract vocabulary. Rocks and trees are suggested by mere daubs of paint as opposed to being extensively depicted. The overall composition itself, however, is clearly representational and also follows in the ethos of Japanese prints. The looming mountain is reminiscent of a puzzle of various hues, assembled into a recognizable object. This and other such late works of Cézanne proved to be of a paramount importance to the emerging modernists, who sought to liberate themselves from the rigid tradition of pictorial depiction…

Piet Mondrian: Houses on the Gein

Piet Mondrian (1872-1944): Houses on the Gein (1900) is a good instance of Mondrian's manner and ideas around 1900, when he was twenty-eight and had just started painting landscapes in the surroundings of Amsterdam… Typical of the early Mondrian is the loose brush stroke, giving the impression of a direct oil sketch of the subject in the open air. This picturesque touch is characteristic of most of Mondrian's work during these years, not only the studies but also the finished paintings, it is probably one of his earliest accomplishments as a painter. A free flexible stroke was to remain a distinctive feature of his work down to his last pictures, his brushwork, mark of the experienced painter, always gave Mondrian's canvases their special vividness… In this approach, in this conception of nature, young Mondrian shows his individuality and independence...