Lot 475 Dα

By way of the bridge that leads diagonally into the painting and the repoussoir motif of the knobbly tree trunk at the left, a typical winter scene from the countryside near Fischerhude opens up before the viewer. The strong contours of the bridge's railing, the trees, the half-timber buildings and the two staffage figures structure the landscape into a foreground and middle ground; the wispy silhouettes of the trees that soar up behind them form the transition to the broad sky. The day is coming to an end, and the sunset standing out against the horizon immerses the sky - with its wide bands of clouds - in muted tones of orange, violet and turquoise. Otto Modersohn is able to draw an astonishingly rich, evocative palette of colours from the landscape, as well: the snow-covered areas' bluish shades of white are juxtaposed with warm tones of red, brown and beige.