Summer evening in Murnau 1908 - 1909

Alexej von Jawlensky made this painting, Summer Evening in Murnau, using broad strokes of intense color. He’s not just painting what he sees, but how he *feels* about what he sees, right? Check out how the mountains, rendered in deep blues, almost vibrate against that bright, orangey-yellow sky. The paint isn’t overly thick, but you can still see the marks, the energy of his brush. It’s like he’s wrestling with the landscape, trying to capture its essence with these bold gestures. There's something almost Fauvist about it. My eye keeps going to the line of dark blue that runs across the bottom third, separating the land from the water. It’s such a simple, almost childlike stroke, but it anchors the whole composition. It reminds me a bit of Matisse, with that same willingness to simplify and exaggerate. Ultimately, Jawlensky is not trying to give us the definitive version of this landscape. Instead, he invites us to experience a moment, a feeling, a way of seeing.