Dvořák, Hans (19th century), Shady hollow way, 1888

Hans Dvořák(19th century). Shady hollow way in a sunny forest. Watercolour and pen-and-ink drawing, 58.5 x 43 cm (visible size), 70 x 55.5 cm (frame), signed and dated "Hans Dvořák [18]88" at lower left. Framed under glass.

- Into the heart of the forest -

This large watercolour depicts a sparse forest landscape in the glaring light of the midday sun. Immediately in front of the viewer, a stream crosses the path, its refreshing coolness accentuated by the surrounding shadows. Beyond the stream, the terrain is brightly lit. Here, the water-logged plants are in full bloom, while the pile of wood, faded by the strong sun, has taken on the grey colour of the rocky ground, contrasting with the green of the foliage. Between the green carpet of leaves on the left and the pile of wood on the right is the mouth of a slightly ascending, tunnel-like vaulted path, which leads out again into the bright summer sun, so that the light blue background of the sky illuminates the dark forest passage from behind.
The sequence of light and shadow, from the shadow of the immediate foreground into the light, from the light back into the shadow and from there back into the foreseeable light, gives the picture a strong narrative dimension, supported by the timeless atmosphere of the noon hour. And yet, following the panta rhei of the stream, time passes. The leaves of the delicate tree standing next to the pile of dead wood have already taken on a slight autumnal hue. The picture's oscillation between narrative and atmosphere is also to be found at the level of artistic creation: the representational quality, clearly outlined with the pencil, fades into a diffuse atmosphere through the character of the watercolour. The picture is both luminous and mysterious.
With this work, Hans Dvorak has created a close-up landscape inspired by plein air painting, whose intense appeal is rooted in the 'naturalistic allegory' established by Romantic landscape painting. In this way, Dvorak is at the height of traditional landscape painting, which reached its peak in the late 19th century and was associated with the unfathomable creation.