Immanuel Church, New Castle, Delaware: Distant View 1931

John Marin made this oil painting of Immanuel Church in 1931, rendering the scene with a flurry of gestural marks. Looking at the blues and browns that dominate the palette, I can imagine him working en plein air, trying to capture the feel of the place in a limited time frame. I sympathize with Marin, trying to pin down the essence of the scene. There’s a real joy in the materiality of the paint here, how he’s letting it sit on the surface of the canvas. See how the paint is thinly applied in some areas and built up in others? The white steeple is so upright it's like a direct channel to god. The quick, loose brushstrokes give the impression of movement, like the wind rustling through the trees. You can almost feel the air moving around the church. Marin was definitely part of an ongoing conversation with other painters, like the Impressionists and the Fauves, pushing the boundaries of representation. I see in his work how painting embraces ambiguity, opening up a space for multiple interpretations.