Artwork
tavla, painting
tavla, painting is a paint painting by the American Impressionist artist Gunnar Widforss. It dates from 1910 and is held in the collection of the ethnographic museum.
About this work
Overview
Gunnar Widforss’s oil painting captures a segment of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon known as Oza Butte. The work depicts the ridge just before sunset, when the sun’s low angle illuminates the rock faces and a pinkish hue spreads across the sky. The composition emphasizes the layered canyon walls that recede into distance, offering a tranquil view of this remote landscape.
Subject & Meaning
The scene focuses on the quiet ridge that later bore the artist’s name—Widforss Point—highlighting the interplay of light and stone at a moment of transition between day and night. The warm glow and deep shadows suggest both the grandeur of the canyon and the subtle, contemplative experience of standing on its edge.
Technique & Style
Executed in the 1920s, the painting employs bold, saturated colors that set it apart from earlier, more muted landscape traditions. Widforss’s brushwork conveys the texture of the rock and the atmospheric quality of the sky, while his use of contrast between illuminated surfaces and deep canyon shadows creates a vivid sense of depth.
History & Provenance
Created during Widforss’s prolific period of national‑park subjects, the work reflects his dedication to documenting American wilderness. The ridge portrayed, Oza Butte, is part of a larger formation that includes the eponymous Widforss Point, a geographic tribute to the artist’s contributions to landscape art.
Artist & collection
Artist
