43.2 × 53.3 cm
(17 × 21 inches)
Signed with initials lower right
No. 100
Dating from around 1930, Algerian Landscape (2) is one of the earliest works in the exhibition and already reveals Armstrong's highly individual transformation of the visible world. Architecture, landscape, classical forms and the reclining figure are compressed into a luminous, almost dream-like composition.
The picture is constructed from a succession of simplified forms. A blue classical column, white buildings and a monumental standing figure rise above the landscape, while the reclining figure in the foreground seems almost to merge with the undulating terrain. Armstrong makes no attempt to describe a conventional view; instead the different elements are rearranged into a highly personal imaginative landscape.
Antiquity is already central to Armstrong's visual language. Classical architecture and sculpture coexist with modern buildings and stylised natural forms, anticipating the persistent dialogue between the ancient and modern worlds that would occupy him throughout his career.
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