Landscape near Arnhem

Piet Mondrian

1903

Translucent and opaque watercolor over graphite, on wove paper, Watercolor

J. Paul Getty Museum

This watercolor depicts a sweeping panorama of the countryside near Arnhem, in central Netherlands. The viewpoint was taken from a hill in the foreground, looking south, with the gently rolling fields receding into the valley. The city of Arnhem, with the steeple of St. Martin's Church, can be seen in the hazy distance at left. The high horizon line, the elaborately worked surface, and the pattern of light and dark planes of color are characteristic of the landscapes Mondrian made around 1900 to 1902. Applying blue and green translucent watercolors and opaque watercolors wet-into-wet, Mondrian used the aqueous tidelines to create a