Illusion

The geometric lines blur, merging the soft greens of the trees with the ochre browns of the walls. Everything points to the assimilation of Impressionist principles, including the atmospheric suspension reminiscent of certain works by Camille Pissarro or Eugene Boudin. One can almost sense the air vibrating and the heat brushing against the skin, as the photograph radiates an intense sensuality. By reinventing Impressionism, Réhahn imbues the landscape with pulsating poetry, creating a bridge between the warmth of Cézanne’s canvases and Vietnam’s dry season.

Yet, this exterior photograph bears no resemblance to any familiar landscape. It evokes the sensation of standing before Van Gogh’s wheat fields, where one is compelled to follow the undulating elements, the ripples stirred by the heat. A tableau of fire and wind captures the fleeting flame of a moment, balanced gracefully by the soft greens, reminiscent of Monet’s “Harmonies Vertes.” The softened brick rooftops, touched with hints of sunny yellow, evoke Cézanne’s “Montagne Sainte-Victoire,” and even more so, “Château-Noir.” While a Buddhist temple may be recognizable, the photograph’s title, Illusion, suggests that identifying the subject is of little consequence.

What we perceive is not necessarily what has been captured—a core principle of Impressionism that paved the way for abstraction.

CREATION
The swirls of movement were achieved in this photograph by shooting through the light bending distortion of heat shimmer as a farmer burned her field. The intensity of the heat created an warping of the geometric lines of the architecture, creating a truly surreal effect.

EXHIBITED
– Permanent Collection of the Cuba’s Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (National Museum of Fine Arts) in Havana, Cuba.