Blick auf die Heiligenstädter Pfarrkirche c. 1905

Carl Moll made this painting of the Heiligenstadt Parish Church with oil on canvas, and what strikes me is the way the brushstrokes sit, almost on the surface. The colours are muted, but lively. A range of greens, greys, and browns, punctuated by a dash of red. I love the way the foliage is built up with small, dense marks. You can almost feel the weight of the paint, the labor of applying each stroke. I imagine Moll standing before the canvas, squinting in the sun, trying to capture the essence of the scene. It’s like he’s wrestling with the paint, coaxing it into form. The tower is so direct and clear and the trees at the bottom so heavy, like it is pressing down on the earth. It reminds me of other painters from that time, like Klimt or Schiele, who were also grappling with how to represent the world in new ways. It's all part of this ongoing conversation between artists, a dialogue that spans generations. Painting is about embracing uncertainty, and allowing for multiple interpretations, right?