Speedwald Village in Autumn, Walter Moras. Oil on canvas, 24 x 39 in, ( 60 x 100 cm). Link is to MutualArt, larger image on GoodFon.

Yes, I know it can initially look a bit, um… picturesque (and yes, I know there are ducks), but I like it. The more I look at the large reproduction of this painting, the more it reminds me of the atmosphere and feeling of bright overcast Autumn days.

Moras has nicely controlled his values, and arranged the atmospheric and linear perspective of the scene like discreet planes to create an inviting sense of depth.

The nicely shadowed left and right foreground elements look a bit similar, but different enough, much like nature itself. They and the dark silhouetted foreground house frame a composition that uses every element to draw us back to the house in the middle ground, and then further back to the house in the distance and the trees beyond.

I found the pull of my eye into the background hard to resist.

The Canal at Holmes Bridge, Christian Mlested, oi on canvas, roughly 38 x 34 inches ( 96 x 87 cm).

Image is sourced from Wikipedia. This painting was auctioned in 2011; I assume it’s currently in a private collection.

Danish painter Christian Molsted, who was active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, gives us a view of a canal and bridge in horizontal light, with a strong sense of depth. Deep shadows in the foreground make the sunlit buildings, bright sky and reflections in the water look even brigter, and lead us back into the painting.

I particularly like the range of colors in the distant builings and church tower past the bridge. it’s a little hard to see, but he appears to have mixed in violets, magentas, yellows and even greens, while maintaining the sense of atmospheric perspective that demands the colors not be so vibrant as to come forward. There is also quite a mix of colors in the sky.