Mountain Stream with Boulders

Probably painted when the artist was in Saut du Doubs in Switzerland, Mountain Stream with Boulders is one of his most impressive landscape paintings. Without focussing on a particular one, Schuch rendered the boulders in a wide palette of colours ranging from golden brown to black, enriched with the cool shades of the water and vegetation. The picture’s surface is divided into two horizontal sections – the top part illuminated by the sun, the lower area in shadow. It is precisely in this way, rather than rendering details, that he captures the substance of his subject. The cool, damp foreground is contrasted with the warm, dry background in such a vivid way that we can almost feel it.