Odysseus and Calypso 1943

Max Beckmann made this painting, Odysseus and Calypso, with oil on canvas, and its got this really direct way of laying down paint, like each color is a decision, a separate thought. You can almost see him thinking. The colors aren't blended so much as they’re bumping up against each other. Look how the brown of the serpent curves around Odysseus’ legs, like a decorative question mark. Each shape, each color, feels like a piece of a puzzle that doesn’t quite fit, but that's the point. It keeps your eye moving, asking questions. The whole scene is a bit theatrical, a bit staged, a world of bold outlines and clashing perspectives. Beckmann reminds me a little of Kirchner, especially in how he uses color to create mood, but there’s also a solidity to Beckmann, a weightiness, that’s all his own. Ultimately, paintings are more like questions than answers, and Beckmann asks some of the best ones.