The Napostá Creek

The Napostá Creek cuts through the province of Buenos Aires and leads into the Argentinean Sea after passing through the city of Bahía Blanca. Near this city in the province of Buenos Aires, Della Valle’s friend, well-known ophthalmologist Pedro Lagleyze, had a ranch. It was on this property that the artist produced at least three vertical format oil paintings of the creek and the surrounding landscape. This work, probably from 1893, bears a close relationship to another painting by the artist, La vuelta del malón, in its use of plastic devices. The treatment of light on the horizon is repeated, a radiant glow that moves across the image, dividing it into two halves: the sky with gray cumulous clouds is above and below are the water and animals. A horse can be seen drinking from the creek, surrounded by some ducks and herons in the midst of this wild landscape at dawn. The creek becomes another pretext for exploring the effects of light and reflections.