Tessiner Häuser I 1928

Christian Rohlfs painted “Tessiner Hauser I” with what looks like watercolor, and look at how the colors just kind of seep into each other. It's like he's letting the paint do its own thing, which for me, is what art making is all about. I'm really drawn to the way he uses these blues and browns. See how they're not quite blending, but not fighting either? The whole surface is alive, that deep blue in the upper section is like an inky night sky, it really sets the mood. The strokes around the edges of the building, so free, so loose. It reminds me a little of Emil Nolde, with that same expressive use of color, but Rohlfs has this way of making the architecture feel so alive, like it’s breathing. You know, art isn’t about copying something, it’s about adding something, and Rohlfs definitely did that here.