Beim Malen (wohl Marianne von Werefkin) 1911

Gabriele Münter painted this in oil, capturing an artist at work bathed in a yellow glow. I’m immediately drawn to how the painting's made, and how the paint sits on the canvas - thick and kind of blunt. The figure, possibly Marianne von Werefkin, is caught mid-gesture, a slash of red against the yellow ground. I feel like Münter must have known that feeling, when you’re staring at the canvas and the whole world disappears. She's holding a palette – look at those daubs of color, like little jewels waiting to be set free. You can imagine the painting coming into being, one stroke at a time, a process of intuition and response. It reminds me a little of Paula Modersohn-Becker. These artists, working with such intensity and focus. They were constantly in conversation, inspiring and challenging each other. Paintings like this remind us that art is a living thing, a constant exchange of ideas, a conversation across time.