Matulka painted landscapes throughout his career; he interpreted them in a modernist idiom less radical than that of his stilllife compositions. In 1921 he began summering regularly in Czechoslovakia and while there began his "Village" scenes. Although Autumn Landscape has an inscription on the stretcher dating it to 1926, the painting’s style is more like that of his landscapes of 1921-23. The cubic structure of the houses suggests the influence of Cézanne and Picasso. The rich palette and exuberant brushwork reveal the impact of more contemporary art. Matulka may have known of the art of Franz Marc (1880-1916), yet it is more likely that landscapes such as Autumn Landscape were informed by the post World War I School of Paris, in particular, artists such as Roger de la Fresnaye (1885-1925) who were active in Paris when Matulka lived in that city. The brilliant hues-clear yellows, oranges, and russets, and bold blues and greens-are more allied with the second generation cubists than with Picasso himself. Critics commented on the vibrance of Matulka’s palette when this painting was exhibited in his first solo exhibition. Also seen in this and other landscapes shown in that 1927 exhibit is Matulka’s overwhelming love of movement: not only did he often use the motif of a sweeping road to lead the viewer into his scenes, he also enlivened his surfaces with patches of flickering color that almost contradict the solidity of the forms. Although the brilliant autumnal colors might suggest a New England locale, an area in which Matulka is known to have summered during the mid-1920s, the site may have been in France or Czechoslovakia. A partially erased inscription on the frame indicates Provence as the locale. For Matulka landscapes were personal reminiscences of places he knew intimately.

The late nineteenth century witnessed a growing cosmopolitanism and sophistication in American culture. Great riches were amassed by railroad tycoons and land barons, and along with this came the desire for a luxurious standard of living. Collectors filled their homes with European as well as American works of art. American artists, generally trained abroad, often painted in styles that were indistinguishable from their European counterparts.
Most Americans who studied abroad did so in the European academies, which promoted uplifting subject matter and a representational style that emphasized well-modeled, clearly defined forms and realistic color. Academic painting served American artists well, for their clients demanded elaborate large-scale paintings to demonstrate their wealth and social positions. With an emphasis on material objects and textures, academic artists immortalized their patrons’ importance in full-length portraits.
Academic painting dominated taste in Europe throughout the century. But in the 1860s impressionism emerged in France as a reaction to this hegemony. By the 1880s this “new painting” was still considered progressive. Mary Cassatt was the only American invited to participate in the revolutionary Paris impressionist exhibitions. Despite her participation and the early interest of several other American painters, few Americans explored impressionism until the 1890s. Impressionist painters no longer had to choose subject matter of an elevated character but instead could depict everyday scenes and incidents. Nor did impressionists have to record the physical world with the objective detail of a photograph. Artists were now encouraged to leave their studios and paint outside under different weather conditions. American impressionists used the new aesthetic to capture the charm and beauty of the countryside and the city as well as the quiet delicacy of domestic interiors.