Elizabeth with Hens under an Apple Tree 1902

Paula Modersohn-Becker made this painting of Elizabeth with hens under an apple tree with oil on canvas, but when? I’m not sure, it is a real mystery. It's so interesting to see how the paint seems scrubbed onto the canvas, especially in the girl's dress and the sky, like she's pushing the color into the fabric. There's a real sense of immediacy and process; you can almost feel her hand moving. Look at the hen hanging from the tree! It's like a dark, feathered ornament. The colors are earthy – greens, browns, whites – but they're applied with this kind of raw, almost childlike energy. Modersohn-Becker was part of a group working in Germany at the beginning of the 20th Century, which included Emil Nolde and Kathe Kollwitz. They were all interested in a kind of art that rejected academic naturalism, embracing Fauvism, Expressionism, and Post-Impressionism in an effort to convey the raw reality of feeling. This painting feels like a little poem about what it means to be in the world. It’s all about process and making.