Bauerntanz 1919

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made "Bauerntanz" with oil paint, though when exactly remains a bit of a mystery. The colours aren’t exactly realistic, are they? More like emotional weather. And that makes me think about the energy that goes into artmaking, the way you push and pull and adjust the paint and the image, almost like you are dancing with it. I love how you can see the layers of paint Kirchner applied; thick and juicy in some parts, scraped back in others. Look at the centre couple, lost in their own world. See how the red of the woman’s dress sings out against the muted blues and greens of the other figures? It’s as though the paint itself is dancing, swirling across the canvas in a frenzy of colour and movement. Kirchner, like Munch, knew how to use colour to express feelings. But where Munch is all angst, Kirchner seems to embrace the chaotic, joyful mess of life. Art's a conversation, right? It's never finished, always moving, always surprising.