MATTIS TEUTSCH János
Braşov, 1884 – Braşov, 1960

Blue Composition, ca. 1919

The expressive linocuts made by János Mattis Teutsch first appeared in the activist periodical MA. A collective exhibition of them was held in 1917 in the journal’s exhibition hall. The following year, MA published an album of them, and two of Mattis Teutsch’s linocuts were printed in Der Sturm in Berlin. Of all the activists, his pictures are the most painterly. The vibrant streams of amorphous planes of colour flowing into each other are counterbalanced by the upright clusters of closely grouped trees. The traditional Secessionist way of forming planes is enriched with emphatic gestures of painterly expression. The organic shapes in the landscape represent human emotions and the inner workings of the soul. Alongside precedents from symbolism and the Secession, the influence of the Munich expressionists (Der Blaue Reiter) can also be clearly felt. In his later paintings, his way of thinking grew ever more abstract, but the inspiration he derived from his experiences of nature would remain with him for the rest of his artistic career.