Bauerntanz 1919

This painting by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner shows a peasant dance. The thick paint has been applied in such a vigorous way, with these short, choppy brushstrokes. It gives everything a kind of restless energy, you know? I can imagine Kirchner throwing himself into the act of painting, trying to capture not just the look of the dance, but the feeling of it, the music, the sweat, the slightly crazed look in everyone's eyes. There’s a dialogue here between the raw materiality of the paint and the emotional weight of the scene. The color is really interesting. The red of the central figure's dress against the blues, and the way he's carved out the faces with a bold directness. Kirchner is in conversation with artists like Munch or Van Gogh who knew how to make paint convey raw emotion. These aren't just colours, they're feelings made visible. It’s like he’s saying, "let's get real about what it means to be alive."