Is Trier a Painter or an Ascetic?

The first film I’ve seen by Trier was Breaking the Waves (1996). I think this was the really first Dogme film disregarding the scenes which separate the story and the last scene of the film where the divine bells ring out. These parts of the scenes are very colourful and imaginative, but they are not long.
The same picturesque world can be found in a few of his earlier films like The Element of Crime (1984), Medea (1988), Europa (1991). Here is the Europa trailer:

His first official and only Dogme film was Idioterne (1998). We’ve tried to find
the same old picturesque world in the rest of his films in vain since then. Trier is like an ascetic who consciously gives up colourful things in life. The Five Obstructions (2003) is the most personal movie about the difficulties of his initial period as an artist. He tells in this film how hard it is to work with such demanding rules. This film was inspired by Jørgen Leth’s The Perfect Human (1967).
After that Dogville’s (2003) and Manderlay’s (2005) atmosphere is truly like Kaffka’s world. (Otherwise the title of Europa came from Kaffka’s novel, Amerika). Everything is isolated and bleak.
Here is the Manderlay trailer:


Trier said in signandsight.com: (17/11/2005)
„I look for boundaries which restrict my range of activity and aesthetic freedom. Then I can concentrate all my energy in this small space. It's very simple: when you're in a prison, you're in a better position to think about freedom.”

It's true but sometimes he suffers from depression. „Lars von Trier's depression could finish his filmmaking„ (CBC Arts Online)

But I'm waiting for the good old picturesque world...