Calvary 1923

Ludvig Karsten made this painting, Calvary, with oil on canvas. The whole painting feels like it's been built up with these frantic, almost panicked brushstrokes. Karsten really lays the paint on thick, it's a very physical process and you can see every touch of the brush. There is such an intensity of colour, and the way he uses these reds and greens that clash, makes the painting feel really alive. Look at the figure on the right. The colour is so feverish. The strokes are really gestural, like the artist is trying to capture something fleeting or unstable. I think that uncertainty is the point, it makes the painting feel raw and unresolved. This reminds me of some of Kirchner's paintings, in the way that it uses expressive colour and loose, gestural brushwork to convey emotion. Ultimately, I think this piece captures the inherent ambiguity in art, its ability to provoke multiple, often conflicting interpretations.