Liggende akt med hevede ben 1919 - 1924

Edvard Munch made this watercolour painting, Liggende akt med hevede ben, and you can see the fluidity of the paint, how it blossoms and blooms on the paper. It’s about touch, the brushstroke, and the way the water suspends the pigment, right? There’s a real economy to Munch’s marks here. He trusts in the way colour can suggest form, rather than laboriously contouring it. Look at the blues that describe the leg, and the way they bleed into the flesh tones. It’s sensual and a bit unsettling. That dark patch on the head – is it hair? Is it shadow? It’s so ambiguous. The whole thing has this quality of being caught in the act, like a fleeting impression. It reminds me of other artists like Egon Schiele, who were also trying to capture the raw, visceral experience of being in a body. It's a reminder that art doesn't have to be polished to be powerful.