Houses at Murnau 1909

Wassily Kandinsky made "Houses at Murnau" with oil on board sometime in the early 1900s, a period of intense experimentation for the artist. Look at the juicy brushstrokes of yellow, red, and blue which build up to form a landscape. I imagine Kandinsky outside, trying to capture the feeling of a particular place. What was he thinking as he made this? You see how the brushstrokes aren't really trying to describe the houses so much as evoke them. It’s like Kandinsky wanted to push painting beyond mere representation, and get at something more essential. Like music, right? There's a real energy in the way he layered the paint. Thick and thin, wet on wet, building up the surface. You can see how he’s grappling with the stuff, making marks that aren't always neat or precise. And that dark blue, which creeps in everywhere, it's so alive and intense, pushing against the yellow. This is a kind of conversation that all painters have, down the ages, each mark calling forth another.