Three Egyptian Women 1911

Konstantinos Maleas made this painting, Three Egyptian Women, with oil paint. I love how the painting embraces a kind of awkwardness and process, like it’s been built up in layers, and never quite resolved. Look at the way the brushstrokes seem to hover on the surface, never quite blending or settling. The paint is put down in these tactile marks, and you can almost feel the artist’s hand moving across the canvas. Take a look at the figures. They’re these dark, abstracted forms, maybe blending into the landscape. There's a sense of mystery there, like we’re not quite sure what’s going on, or what these figures are doing in this landscape. The dark figures and the landscape are connected through the brushwork, each element is built up from the same strokes. You know, it reminds me a little of the early work of Milton Avery, that same combination of abstraction and observation. But with a slightly different feel, a bit more raw. It shows how paintings can be both about seeing and about the sheer joy of smearing paint around.