Heuvellandschap in storm

Heuvellandschap in storm (Hilly Landscape in Storm) by George Hendrik Breitner from 1900 depicts a dramatic weather condition unusual within his primarily urban output. Breitner was associated with the busy streets and working-class interiors of Amsterdam, but he also produced landscape subjects that demonstrate his responsiveness to the expressive possibilities of weather and natural force. A storm transforms a landscape into something turbulent and momentarily dramatic, and Breitner's handling of this subject brings his energetic, gestural technique to bear on atmospheric conditions. The work is held in RCE storage rather than on permanent museum display.

Breitner's storm landscape deploys his characteristic broad, assertive brushwork to convey atmospheric turbulence. Dark, rolling clouds dominate the upper two-thirds of the composition, with the hilly landscape below buffeted by the same energetic paint handling. His palette shifts toward grey-greens and dark browns — the colors of a landscape under storm light.