For Karl-Schmidt Rottluff, watercolor remained of utmost importance throughout his entire artistic career. As the artist believed that the path from visual sensation to artistic realization was easier to pursue in watercolor than with oil, the medium would takes on an independent role in his oeuvre. As the materials the medium required simply took up less space than it was the case with oil painting, it should become his preferred technique to capture landscapes and cities he saw on journeys through southern countries like Italy and Dalmatia in the mid-1920s, where the artist fell in love with spontaneous accounts of the moment, capturing impressions that he brought to life in rapid lines, overlapping colors and interlocking surfaces.

In the present “Gebirgsdorf mit Kirche” (Mountain Village with Church), Schmidt-Rottluff's unique eye for perspective, depth and atmosphere is more evident than ever. The colors seem to dance with each other, reflecting a moment of complete harmony and tranquility as the sun sets over the serene village. The lines of the underlying sketch illustrate the characteristic rigor of Schmidt-Rottluff's vertical, diagonal and horizontal lines contrasted by the emotional intensity of the wet-on-wet watercolor: “The forms appeared to be less precisely captured, merging into an atmospheric shimmering blaze of color” (quoted from: Christiane Remm, Magdalena M. Moeller (eds.), Karl Schmidt-Rottluff. Aquarelle, Berlin 2011, p. 43).

It is this deft ability to capture the gravity of monumental elements such as churches, fields, and mountains in a playful way, and to elevate them to a deeply personal perspective that makes Schmidt-Rottluff's watercolors some of the most endearing works of his oeuvre. By shifting and distorting perspective, the viewer is confronted with more than just an idyllic view – it is a flattened representation, an inner feeling, a crystal-clear expression of emotion. [KA]