Lake Grunewald
by LEISTIKOW, Walter, Oil on canvas, 167 x 252 cm
The ominous, almost Orientally decorative treatment of the Grunwaldsee by Walter Leistikow shows the new trend toward the abstract as the nineteenth century comes to a close. Flat, patterned, close to lacquer screen or brocade in its restraint, this approach to the experience of nature anticipates Modernism in its restraint and respect for the two-dimensional.