1909
John Marin American, 1870-1953
United States
This watercolor, titled simply Landscape, in the Stieglitz Collection, was signed by Marin yet not dated. Previously assigned to around 1911, it can just as plausibly be credited to the artist’s final years in Europe. In the almost Divisionist application of brushstrokes, creating small building blocks of color that negate spatial recession, it seems to relate to French landscapes dated 1908 that document Marin’s response to Neo-Impressionism. An inscription on the back (“n 2” encircled) has led to its possible identification as Hill and Village, No. 2, Chevreuse from 1909.
Watercolor with blotting, and graphite, on moderately thick, rough-textured, off-white wove paper