Nocturnal Landscape (Paisatge nocturn)

Executed in 1951, Paisatge nocturn belongs to an early series of Surrealist-inspired paintings by Antoni Tàpies, created during what has come to be known as the artist’s “Magic Period.” Just two years prior, in 1948, Tàpies had discovered the Surrealists, alongside his friend, the poet and writer Joan Brossa, and was instantly captivated by their evocation of the fantastic and magical imagery of dreams. Influenced directly by artists such as Paul Klee, Joan Miró and Max Ernst, Tàpies began to explore the painterly possibilities of expressing cosmic and dreamlike landscapes in a number of finely crafted and delicate paintings, for which Brossa would often provide mysterious and poetic titles. These elegantly composed, enigmatic paintings, were pivotal in establishing Tàpies’ reputation internationally, marking him out as one of Spain’s most promising contemporary artists. Paisatge nocturn is one of the most accomplished of these works, blending together a wide range of motifs and mythical creatures into a delicate nocturnal landscape. Painted in layers subtly modulated colour, Tàpies depicts a desert-like plateau dotted with sparse, whispy vegetation, that appears to glow beneath a pair of enormous moons or planets. The light from these celestial bodies, which hover just above the horizon, reveals the reclining form of a mysterious, sleeping figure, half-subsumed by the terrain, as if they were slowly sinking into the landscape. Ghost-like apparitions dance across the canvas like the negative shadows of a magic lantern show, conjuring a mystical, otherworldly image that speaks to the power of Tàpies vision.