Soutine, Chaïm (1893-1943)
La Route de la colline, Vence (The Road up the Hill)
c.1924
Oil on canvas, 72.4 × 60 cm
Tate Britain, London
Soutine’s response to the South of France appears to have been intensely physical. In this work, the steep streets of Vence afford him a plunging perspective which he welds together under the overarching tree. The canvas barely contains the swirling energy of the forms, resulting in a strangely claustrophobic relationship with nature. (Tate)