Dutch Canal at Night

In Guillaume Vogels' Dutch Canal at Night, the influence of the avant-garde is present. After a period of painterly experimentation, Vogels achieves greater self-confidence. The colour palette, however, remains very subdued. Except for some small light accents, it is all about grey tones. In the foreground, a cargo ship can be seen on a canal in an urban environment. The…

In Guillaume Vogels' Dutch Canal at Night, the influence of the avant-garde is present. After a period of painterly experimentation, Vogels achieves greater self-confidence. The colour palette, however, remains very subdued. Except for some small light accents, it is all about grey tones. In the foreground, a cargo ship can be seen on a canal in an urban environment. The top of the canvas is a subtle play of light impressions on an almost closed cloud cover. Typical of Birds is the simple but effective composition, the minimisation of the human figure in favour of a very suggestive representation of the landscape and surroundings, and the atmospheric use of a limited number of colours mixed directly onto the canvas and often applied with the palette knife.