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Lot Essay
Landscapes formed a major part of Ardon's oeuvre in Israel. Ardon felt a mystical connection to the land, and expressed this affinity in his work. He was profoundly affected by the land, by the soil and stones and the feeling of history and mysticism that emanate from it.
Ardon explained that in his landscapes he had strived 'to render the light not only externally - impressionistically - but also internally, convey the awe inspiring primeval nature of the land' (A. Schwartz, Mordecai Ardon, The Colour of Time, Jerusalem, 2003, p. 22).
After his initial disappointment at arriving in provincial Eretz Israel in the 1930s, Ardon underwent an artistic metamorphosis. 'As he walked though Jerusalem's hills, he felt a mystical attachment to the earth. There is something here that is a thousand years old, something that has roots. Here I could feel those roots... suddenly I had ground for my paintings... I could paint' (M. Vishny, Mordecai Ardon, New York, 1973, pp. 24-25). 'Once a dark mirror of Ardon's feelings, the landscape now shiningly reflects the newly awakened joie de vivre that he experienced in his surroundings' (ibid., p. 32).
His landscapes evolved into a shimmering puzzle of shapes and forms of colour that would convey the very essence of what he saw. Arturo Schwartz writes in his Ardon monograph about the present lot: 'Ardon is a master evocator of vibrant and changing qualities of light, as is evident in paintings such as... Salute to Morning of 1961, an exquisite symphony of pinks, reds and yellows' (ibid., p. 29).
Ardon explained that in his landscapes he had strived 'to render the light not only externally - impressionistically - but also internally, convey the awe inspiring primeval nature of the land' (A. Schwartz, Mordecai Ardon, The Colour of Time, Jerusalem, 2003, p. 22).
After his initial disappointment at arriving in provincial Eretz Israel in the 1930s, Ardon underwent an artistic metamorphosis. 'As he walked though Jerusalem's hills, he felt a mystical attachment to the earth. There is something here that is a thousand years old, something that has roots. Here I could feel those roots... suddenly I had ground for my paintings... I could paint' (M. Vishny, Mordecai Ardon, New York, 1973, pp. 24-25). 'Once a dark mirror of Ardon's feelings, the landscape now shiningly reflects the newly awakened joie de vivre that he experienced in his surroundings' (ibid., p. 32).
His landscapes evolved into a shimmering puzzle of shapes and forms of colour that would convey the very essence of what he saw. Arturo Schwartz writes in his Ardon monograph about the present lot: 'Ardon is a master evocator of vibrant and changing qualities of light, as is evident in paintings such as... Salute to Morning of 1961, an exquisite symphony of pinks, reds and yellows' (ibid., p. 29).