Paesaggio con cacciatore

In Paesaggio con cacciatore (Landscape with Hunter), a wide plain stretches to the horizon and dark, vivid patches of dense shrubs contrast with a bright sky, into which two trees fan out their branches. A stream almost slices through the thick greenery, reflecting the clear sky. Just one person, a hunter, is present, barely visible in the vegetation.
The proportional relationship between landscape and hunter or, more accurately, between man and nature, conveys the impression that the land is a living presence, obscure but powerful.
This painting eloquently evokes the special relationship – uncommon in 19th century Italian art – that Bertelli creates between the organic materiality of things – be they objects or places – and the similarly organic quality of painting materials.
These materials somehow “mimic” the obscure and powerful thrust of earthly matter. In this landscape, the anecdotal aspect – the theme of the hunter in the landscape – is clearly raised to the emotional and mental plane of a deep immersion in the life force of nature.