Mrs Blom 1913 - 1914

Christian Krohg’s ‘Mrs Blom’ is a painted portrait, but there's no date on it. The making of this painting, for me, is all about layering. Krohg has put down thin washes and then come in with these intense, loaded brushes. There's a real push-pull in this painting between dark and light, flat and built-up. You can see so much in her face, this character that emerges from the shades of grey, brown and pink. Look at how the paint is thin and scrubby on the left side of her face, but thicker, almost sculptural, around the nose and cheek on the right. That one daub of white paint on the bottom of her chin is like a key, bringing the whole face into focus. It makes you think about how a painting is built mark by mark, decision by decision. You can see echoes of other artists in this, like Manet, but Krohg’s rawness feels very modern. Like the painting is not resolved. All of this makes you realise art is one long conversation between artists.