Konrad Mägi review – these bland, blobby paintings are expressionism without expression

Dulwich Picture Gallery, London
The Estonian artist’s landscapes are plodding and decorative, lacking pathos and purpose. But at least they’re not as bad as his portraits

Halfway through this exhibition of the early 20th-century Estonian painter Konrad Mägi I had to take a breather. By which I mean I needed to breathe in some better art. I was worried my responses might be off. How could I be finding this artist’s colourful works, with their echoes of pointillism, cubism and other modernist movements, so dead? Was the problem in me?

A few minutes looking around Dulwich’s permanent collection reassured me that it wasn’t me. I found it more beautiful and beguiling than ever. This unique little art museum was founded more than 200 years ago as home to a collection originally intended for the Polish royal family – hence its huge ambition, spanning Rembrandt, Rubens, Piero di Cosimo, Poussin, plus a fine selection of British art.