The Church of St. Mary in Bonn in Snow 1911

August Macke made this painting of the Church of St. Mary in Bonn with oil on canvas, though the exact date is unknown. Macke lays down a thick impasto in earthy browns, yellows, and greens, only broken by the bright white snow. There’s a great tension between the flat, almost cartoon-like rendering of the buildings, and the texture of the paint. The surfaces feel alive, full of movement, while the composition feels very still. Look at the lower left corner. The way he renders the tree is so economical, just a few dark lines, somehow evocative of the bleakness of winter. Macke was part of the German Expressionist group Der Blaue Reiter, or The Blue Rider. Kandinsky was another member. Looking at Macke's approach to colour and form in this painting, you get a sense of the conversation going on between artists at this time. It's a reminder that art is never made in a vacuum; it's always responding to something. And it never has to settle on just one way of seeing or being.