A Man and a Woman 1909

Oluf Hartmann’s ‘A Man and a Woman’ is a painting that feels like it’s been coaxed into existence, built up from layers of muted tones. Imagine Hartmann standing before the canvas, brush in hand, probably working quickly to capture an impression. Look at the way he models the figures with these loose, fluid strokes of paint. The blue seeps into the ochre of the figures and the shadowy grey of the background, like colors merging in a dream. I wonder what he was thinking about as he made this painting. The way the figures are turned away from each other, they might be lovers or strangers. There's this quiet intensity in the brushwork; the heavy outlines lend the figures a certain gravity, but the fluidity of the medium keeps the composition open. It reminds me a bit of Paula Modersohn-Becker, who was working around the same time, trying to capture an essence through form. Ultimately painting is just one artist responding to another across time. And we, the viewers, get to join in too.