Modern Schoolgirl 1928

Helene Schjerfbeck made this painting, Modern Schoolgirl, with oil on canvas, though we don’t know exactly when. Look at this limited palette! It's like she’s mixed all the colors from a single tube of burnt umber with a touch of white. The paint is laid on thinly, almost like a watercolor, with these visible brushstrokes creating a sense of movement and revealing the process. See how the eyes are just dark, almond-shaped voids, and the mouth a mere dab of red? These details, or lack thereof, create a striking contrast with the soft, muted tones of the rest of the painting. Schjerfbeck’s work often returns to the same subjects, and I can see how this reduction of form anticipates the radical simplifications of her later self-portraits. It reminds me of Paula Modersohn-Becker, another artist who was finding new ways to represent the figure at this time. It's like they're both part of this ongoing conversation about what painting can be.