Christi Auferstehung 1924

Albin Egger-Lienz made this painting called ‘Christi Auferstehung’, or ‘Christ's Resurrection’, with oil on canvas. Look at these figures emerging from the earthiness of this palette - all browns, tans, creams and blacks. They're almost like ghosts, but more solid, monumental. I imagine the artist working and reworking the painting, shifting and pushing the paint around, trying to get the earth tones just right. There is an image of Christ arising, but, wow, it's not your typical Sunday School image. It feels more like a conversation with artists like Kollwitz or Dix, grappling with the weight of humanity. It must have been an amazing feeling when Egger-Lienz put the final touches to the painting - a process of trial, error, and intuition. What does it mean to be born and reborn? That's the question I imagine the artist asking himself during his process. The making of the painting becomes a way of knowing. And really, that's what art is, isn't it? Artists in conversation across time, inspiring each other.