Lakeside Road near Gmunden

During a sojourn at the Traunsee in the Salzkammergut, Gerstl made a variety of small-format landscapes, which were painted directly from nature. He further developed his expressive style by depicting views of roads, river banks, and orchard meadows. The vehement brushstrokes performed by Gerstl in his last years seem to detonate this motif. Depicted here is the lakeside road near Gmunden, which circles the Traunsee. Behind the trees, Gerstl opened up the view toward the Traunstein and the Schlafende Griechin, a mountain named for its resemblance to a sleeping Greek woman. This small-scale painting is brought to life as a result of the contrasts between the brushwork and the wide array of green and blue shades. Above the light, a slightly curved road and a green bank open onto a glimpse of the shimmering blue lake rendered in a color similar to the blue of the mountain and the sky. Heightening the incomplete effect of the picture, the painted surface is still visible on the picture’s edge, which demonstrates a further reason why Gerstl was ahead of his time.