Japanese Flower 1913

Alexej von Jawlensky's 'Japanese Flower' is a still life painting, and seems to me an open invitation to consider the act of seeing as a process of discovery. It's all about layering; the surface is built up with colours that seem to vibrate against each other, and the dark outlines make the whole scene pop, like stained glass. The paint looks thick, juicy, you can almost feel the bristles of the brush as Jawlensky worked. Take a look at the vase – that deep green, almost black in places – it's not just a colour, it’s a presence. 'Japanese Flower' reminds me of the Fauvist painters, like Matisse, but with an added layer of introspection. It’s about the tension between representation and abstraction, about the joy and struggle of trying to capture the world, one brushstroke at a time.