O Barco 1915

Anita Malfatti made "O Barco" with thick strokes of oil paint. I can imagine her, palette in hand, deciding where the boat would cut through the water. Look at the creamy yellows and browns, smeared and dabbed into the sky, the land, the sails. It reminds me of Van Gogh, how he loaded up the brush and let the marks sit on the surface. You can feel Malfatti wrestling with the scene, trying to capture the light and the feel of the air. It's like she's saying, "I'm here, I see this, and I'm going to make you see it too." These artists, like Malfatti, they’re all in conversation. They look at each other’s paintings, steal ideas, and push things further. And now, we get to look at their work and join the conversation. Painting is alive, it's always changing, and it's never quite sure what it is. I love that.