Marsden Hartley (1877–1943), Hall of the Mountain King, ca. 1908-1909
Oil on canvas, 30 × 30 in. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas. 2010.94.
Marsden Hartley took a modern approach to landscape: he wasn’t interested in depicting nature with scientific precision or reproducing a scene with great accuracy. He wanted to convey the energy and power of the mountains by using a more abstract style. His thickly applied brushstrokes and bright palette of pinks, blues, yellows, oranges, and whites draw our attention to the paint itself. The format of the landscape is also inventive, as he chose a square composition rather than a conventional rectangular one.