Mirri Mustassa Puvussa 1911

Here's a painting by Tyko Sallinen, called Mirri Mustassa Puvussa, or Mirri in a Black Dress. Look at how the white ground swirls around the figure, fighting to emerge. I imagine Sallinen starting with a dark ground, then building the image with layers of scrubby, chalky color. He’s using the paint to feel his way through the image. It’s like he’s asking, "Where is the light? Where is the form?" It reminds me a bit of Munch, but Sallinen is more earthy, more grounded. There’s something so intimate and searching about this portrait. The face feels unfinished, open, like a question mark. Painters are always in conversation with each other, across time and space. We look, we steal, we transform. It’s a constant process of call and response, of pushing and pulling, that keeps painting alive.