Springtime 1919

Max Pechstein made this painting, Springtime, with oil on canvas, and it's a riot of color and bold shapes. The marks here are so physical, thick daubs and slabs of paint, and the color choices feel instinctive, not trying to copy what's "really" there, but emphasizing the experience of seeing it. The road is particularly amazing, it has all these pink and lavender ribbons of paint, so that instead of just showing a road, it becomes an invitation to follow it, a kind of pathway into the painting itself. It's like Pechstein is saying, "Come on in, let's see where this goes!" The paint isn't trying to trick you, it's not trying to make you think it's anything other than paint, and it's got this great directness to it. Pechstein was part of the Expressionist movement, and you can see how he's using color and form not just to represent the world but to express something deeper, something emotional and personal. He reminds me a bit of Emil Nolde, who also wasn't afraid to let his feelings show through the paint. For Pechstein, like many artists, ambiguity and multiple interpretations were part of the point.