Gelbe Magnolie 1930

Christian Rohlfs made this painting of a yellow magnolia using what looks like pastel or crayon, something dry and dusty. You can almost feel the push and pull, the artist layering colours, building up the image. Imagine Rohlfs standing there, squinting at the flower, then attacking the paper with these strokes, sometimes gentle, sometimes fierce. I wonder if he stepped back, tilted his head, and thought, "Not quite right, more blue here, a dash of orange there." The colours are intense, alive. Look how the yellow petals burst out against a moody background of blues and greens. The texture is everything, isn't it? Each mark feels like a little decision, a feeling put down on paper. It makes me think about other artists, like Emil Nolde, who also got so much expression out of flowers. It’s like they’re all having this conversation across time, each one adding their own voice. Painting, like any art form, is about that conversation, that exchange, the way we keep inspiring each other to see and feel and make.