The artwork “Woods near Oele” was created by Piet Mondrian in 1908. It is an oil painting on canvas, measuring 128 x 158 cm. The piece is in the Post-Impressionist style, categorized as landscape genre, and it currently resides in the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag in The Hague, Netherlands.
The painting depicts a dense thicket of trees in a somewhat abstract form. The colors are vivid and expressive, with a contrast between the warmer undertones of yellows and oranges and the cooler shades of blues and purples. The vertical lines of the tree trunks provide a sense of structure against the swirls of color that represent the forest floor and canopy. There’s a raw energy to the thick application of paint, setting a mood that is both dynamic and captivating. Light appears to filter through the branches, creating a luminous and atmospheric effect. Although the painting is rooted in naturalism, there’s an evident lean towards abstraction in the way Mondrian has captured the scene, which foreshadows his later move towards pure abstraction.
