The soul of the land

Art and landscape in the twentieth century and today: a topic that never stays the same and a continuous exchange of roles, influences, inspirations, images, concepts, and contents. A reflection on this intriguing subject matter is offered by two exhibitions, only apparently unrelated. They are both in Mestre, on the Venetian mainland, and are each a collection of the artistic views on landscape, one century apart: Matisse and the Light of the Mediterranean at Centro Culturale Candiani and Edward Burtynsky. Extraction – Abstraction at the M9 Museum. Avant-garde master Henri Matisse (Le Cateau-Cambrésis, 1869 – Nizza, 1954) reinvented landscape painting by using vivid, unnatural colours and by intentionally braking perspective rules. His strong, lively colours revolutionize natural shapes. Edward Burtynsky is one on the world’s most appreciated modern photographers, and is known for his large-scale photographs of industrial landscapes, from Canada to South Africa, Nigeria, Spain: dump sites, mines, crops, and man-inflicted wounds on our earth.

Featured image: Matisse e la luce del Mediterraneo – Photo Irene Fanizza | Burtynsky: Extraction/Abstraction – Photo Giorgia Rorato