Variation: Field of Tulips 1916

Alexej von Jawlensky made this "Variation: Field of Tulips" with oil on board, and you can tell he was really thinking about how the painting comes together, stroke by stroke. The surface is alive with all these visible marks, like dashes of color that build up the image. Look at the lavender strokes that fill the canvas, it is so physical! Each color sits next to another, creating a harmony with lots of variety. There is this one vertical black mark on the left – it's so simple, but it holds the whole composition in place. Jawlensky's work reminds me a bit of Marsden Hartley, in the way they both let their feelings guide the brush. And just like a field of real tulips, there are so many possible ways to see it, and none of them are wrong.