Soutine Heaven Sent

After showing in three different venues this past week, the "Angel" series of paintings are beginning to be acquired. The people who collected them, however, were attracted to the abstract qualities of the paintings rather than the subject. So my hypothesis was proven wrong, as was my advisor's. It was assumed that people would buy paintings of angels because of the subject matter regardless of how they were painted. But actually they were purchased for the way they were painted despite the fact that they were entitled "Angels."

In looking back at this series, I am reminded of the paintings of Chaim Soutine, with the impasto brush work, deep blues and reds. Is there something in the Eastern European nature which makes for such heaviness?