Ruins of Pompeii 1908

Fujishima Takeji made Ruins of Pompeii with oil paint, probably en plein air, meaning he was right there, feeling the heat. Look at the sky, it's almost casually brushed, and the heavy monument is somewhere between falling apart and rising from the ashes. I mean, what is painting anyway, if not a bunch of brushstrokes trying to conjure an image? The surface has so much texture. He's used the paint in an almost sculptural way, to build up the form. The dark blue shadows on the right feel ominous, foreboding, like the city could crumble further at any moment. But the light on the temple is hopeful, shining with a certain golden majesty that says: I’m still here. It has that same raw, urgent, searching quality as the work of someone like Paula Modersohn-Becker. It's like a visual diary entry, full of questions, doubts, and fleeting moments of clarity. I love that.