Analysis of "1922 (Cold Fell)" by Ben Nicholson

Ben Nicholson was born in Buckinghamshire, England on the 10th April 1894. Nicholson was exempted from military service in World War 1 due to asthma. Because of an upcoming operation, Nicholson travelled to America to return to a deceased mother (influenza) and brother (killed in action).  On visits to Paris,Nicholson met Mondrian, whose work (neoplastic) influenced him in an abstract direction. He was also influenced from a meeting with Picasso to introduced cubism to his work.
Ben Nicholson has used oil paint on canvas to create the image of a soft landscape. Loose brushstrokes have been used to create a reasonably textured illusion complimented with block colours. I believe Nicholson has purposely excluded tone from the painting to show a more simple and basic viewpoint. The clouds become darker grey as it reaches the left of the canvas howing a disturbed and angry mood. Although the gentle slope of the fields contrasts greatly with this and clams the mood of the image greatly. He has created a pattern of fields and hedges and uses natural, soft shapes to define the landscape. Line is rarely used in the piece and instead Nicholson has used thick layers of colour to create the illusions of line. He has limited his palette to swampy greens, browns and greys which lacks vibrancy, but exaggerates the quaint aspect of the canvas.