Tre Croci - Dolomitenlandschaft

In August of 1913, Oskar Kokoschka and Alma Mahler took a trip through the Dolomites. In her memoirs, Alma stated that while there, the life of the two “prioritized only his work”: “In the morning, we went through the thick forest and investigated the dark green patches. We found young horses playing in a clearing, which immediately excited Oskar Kokoschka. We had his portfolio and crayons with us, and, despite his frantic fear of loneliness, he stayed on alone to finish these drawings, which came out to be uniquely beautiful.” With this landscape painting, the artist was able to monumentalize his journey through the Dolomites. It is one of the most impressive works in his oeuvre, and also maintains an element of the uncanny. Through numerous saturated shades of green and blue that are partly enriched by purple accents, Kokoschka conveyed a cool and damp impression of this mountain vista. It wasn’t captured at a discernable time of day and on the sketch are found only the words “Nach dem Gewitter,” or “After the storm.” This also explains the magical quality to the light, the bright green of the meadows, the water making its way to the little cart, and horse grazing on the freshly watered grass.