Woman in Ecstasy 1911

Ferdinand Hodler's 'Woman in Ecstasy' is built up through many layers of thin oil paint. The ground is this strange mustard yellow, punctuated by these little red dots that could be flowers or maybe just… spots? I like the pose. She looks like she’s about to do a dance. Her expression is intense and concentrated. She reminds me a little of Munch. I wonder if Hodler knew his work? The paint handling in this painting feels exploratory, with the thinned down colors bleeding into one another. I imagine the painting evolving slowly, with him working to create a feeling of intensity. The way he's rendered the folds in her dress is particularly wonderful; they seem to move and ripple with the energy of the figure. But it’s interesting. Because that is what painting is all about. Trying things. Failing. Then trying again. Painting involves constant looking, re-evaluation, and change. And that is what connects artists across generations, this shared language.