Cherry Blossoms

The blossoming twig in the studio window was for Werner Berg a symbol of his beginnings on his farm, the Rutarhof. The vase and the twig extend to the very bottom and the very top of the canvas, and the difference of scale between the twig and the children playing in the field gives it a monumental dimension. The image’s close-up framing fulfills the same purpose – both the mountains in the background and the windowsill in the foreground are cut off by the painting’s edges, drawing the observer directly into the depicted view.

The close-up view, in which the subject is brought close to the picture’s edges or even stretches over them, is a formal device that Berg utilized consistently for certain themes and also employed to varying degrees in other contexts. This technique exaggerates the form’s dimensions and raises the subject’s significance; it produces a certain tension. An element of drama is added to the subject.