Staberhof Farm on Fehmarn I 1913

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner painted “Staberhof Farm on Fehmarn I” with oils, and you can almost smell them emanating from the canvas. The yellows and blues pull you in close, don't they? It's like he's scooped up the sun and moon and smeared them right onto the surface. I love how the brushstrokes are so visible. Thick, juicy dabs and streaks of paint that give everything a real sense of weight. The way the yellow paint glows so brightly on the walls of the farm, it’s so full of life. It feels like it's been built up layer by layer, like the farm itself has grown organically out of the landscape. The surface has a life of its own. That big, dark stroke on the right side reminds me of a similar compositional element in a painting by Edvard Munch. You can see how artists riff off each other, having a visual conversation across time. Kirchner probably wasn't trying to make any definitive statements, but instead embrace the beautiful ambiguity of paint.