Summer evening in Murnau 1908 - 1909

Alexej von Jawlensky's *Summer evening in Murnau* is like a little jewel made of oil paint, laid down in these lush slabs of colour. Can you imagine him working on this outside? He’s seeing the sun sink behind the mountains, casting these unreal blues and purples, and slapping it straight onto the canvas. I wonder if he mixed those colours beforehand, or did he just go at it, throwing down the thick paint and hoping it would all come together? He's part of a whole lineage of artists who were rethinking how colours can create atmosphere, like Kandinsky, who was also working in Murnau at the time. It's kind of hard to believe it's a real place; it’s more like a feeling. The whole painting seems to hum with the evening air, doesn't it? I see the way he used colour reminds me of a lot of contemporary painters who really manipulate colour, surface and texture to convey a feeling. We build on each other, we copy each other, and the conversation goes on.