Evening (Grazing, Alla stanga)

The Italian painter Giovanni Segantini introduced a specific form of Neo−Impressionism. His output found its way to Prague in 1902 in the form of a charcoal version of his large painting Alla stanga. In this black−and−white drawing, the composition is worked up to enhance its visual impact, thus imbuing the pictorial form with a stylistic modernity. The drawing was created at the height of the artist’s career, when he embraced a new, distinctive idiom modelled by light. The low horizon, set against a high sky and opened into the vast distance, is complemented by a rhythmically articulated plane depicting pastures with cows and human figures. The unique moment and overall atmosphere of the evening encounter is underscored by the omnipresent radiance of the sunset.