Birch trunks in front of red farmstead 1901

Paula Modersohn-Becker made this painting, Birch Trunks in Front of Red Farmstead, with oil on canvas. The paint is applied in layers and thick strokes, which means the materials here, the pigment and the way it is laid down, are really doing the work. Look closely, and you'll see how the texture itself gives volume to the trees, and a rawness to the earth. Modersohn-Becker was part of the shift toward modernist aesthetics, and this meant not shying away from the physical properties of the medium. Instead of trying to create an illusion, she wanted you to really see the paint. And that's important because the making of a painting can be quite laborious, especially when you're working at this scale, building up layers, and deliberately leaving visible marks of your labor. It is a reminder that all works of art emerge from processes, not just some flash of inspiration.