Still Life with Sculpture 1924

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made "Still Life with Sculpture" using oil on canvas. Look at how Kirchner builds this still life. It's not about copying what's there, but about making something new, like a world being born right before our eyes. The colors are intense and don’t seem to fit at all, but somehow do. I keep coming back to the way the pink of the sculpture’s body plays off the reds in the floral display she seems to be guarding. It's like a call and response, a conversation happening in color and form. Kirchner's not trying to trick us into seeing reality; he's showing us how he feels it. The way he uses clashing colors reminds me of other Expressionists like Emil Nolde, who also weren't afraid to throw colors together and see what happens. In the end, art is about taking risks and seeing where they lead you.