In Fireworks in Landscape, André Evard (1876-1972) unfolds an atmospheric scene where nature and light meet in poetic unity. Above a gently rising hilly landscape, colorful fireworks trails ascend in soft arcs into the evening sky. The warm red hues of the sky and the dark, almost silhouetted groups of trees in the foreground create a powerful contrast between stillness and movement, permanence and transience.
Created in 1919, the painting marks a phase of reorientation – both in Evard’s artistic development and in the historical moment after the First World War. The luminosity of the fireworks seems to reflect a longing for renewal. Evard, who repeatedly oscillated between figurative and abstract forms of expression in his work, finds a balance here between observation and emotion, between external experience of nature and inner sensation.
At the same time, the motif carries a cross-cultural dimension: Fireworks – originally a Chinese invention from the 9th century – became a symbol of celebration, new beginnings, and joy in Europe. Evard thus takes up a motif that has connected East and West for centuries: the wonder at the fleeting glow of light. In this work, the universal themes of hope, beauty, and change meet in a lyrical visual language that resonates beyond time and culture.