Larkspur 1924

Lovis Corinth painted Larkspur with oils on canvas in what looks like one spirited sitting. I can see the artist’s urgent brushstrokes, a vibrant dance of blues, reds, and greens, capturing the ephemeral beauty of these freshly cut flowers in a glass vase set on a red and white checked tablecloth. I wonder what Corinth was thinking as he painted? Maybe he was just trying to preserve a fleeting moment of beauty, to hold onto something fragile. The texture of the paint is so luscious, thick in some areas, thin in others, creating a kind of visual feast for the eyes. Just look at those blues – each stroke a testament to the joy of seeing, the pure pleasure of applying pigment to canvas. It reminds me of Manet and the way he too used flowers as a means to examine the practice of painting. I can feel the lineage, this ongoing conversation between artists, each one inspiring the next.