A Swiss Modernist Painter

Moon Landscape, 1906–08, enamel on copper plate, 32.5 x 26.5 cm (R.), 14 x 7 cm (upper right)

Moon Landscape, 1906–08

The painting depicts a nocturnal scene dominated by a large, orange-glowing disc of the moon. The moon rises behind dark, silhouetted vegetation, whose hazy tree shapes and bushes stand out in sharp contrast against the luminous celestial body. In the foreground, a dense vegetation rendered in dark green tones can be seen, from which individual points of light glimmer, reminiscent of reflecting dewdrops or glowing flowers. The warm, orange moon forms the centre of the composition and lends the entire scene an almost Symbolist aura.
The work is exemplary of the early phase of André Evard (1876–1972), during which the artist was still moving between Art Nouveau, Symbolism and the beginnings of abstraction. It combines a decorative, ornamental and planar conception of nature with an atmospheric, almost mystical lighting mood.