Provenance: Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist, thence by descent

ABOUT THE WORK

The fleeting nature of the picture and its bold execution, with broad strokes of pure color, suggest that the work was done entirely in open air. This accounts for the simplification of the natural elements. The composition is based on the succession of an interlocking web-like series of shadows on the rocks and the trunks, and repeated in the darker areas that separate the small trees in the background of the picture. The sense of romantic isolation in nature, of a world untouched and pure, contrasts with Manansala’s man-made urban world of candle vendors and the like. The foliage is built up from firm, parallel strokes, patterns, and structures on the surface; the composition is carefully ordered around balanced horizontals and verticals. No wind or shifting light touches the stillness, where the reflections are substantially constructed, suggesting weight and volume, and emphasizing the immobility of the landscape. More importantly, however, Manansala’s attitude toward nature as outward clothing of inward spirits comes alive in his landscapes.