Young Girl with a flowered hat 1910

Alexej von Jawlensky made this painting of a girl with a flowered hat, sometime in the early part of the twentieth century, probably with oil paint on board. The colours are bold, and the brushstrokes are pretty loose, which gives it a real sense of freedom and energy. Looking at the surface, you can see how Jawlensky has used thick, opaque paint, especially in the hat and the background. The texture is built up, almost sculptural in places, giving the painting a tactile quality. Notice how the black outlines define the shapes, but also seem to vibrate against the colors, especially around the figure's eyes, which are really just solid black crescents. It’s the kind of mark that seems awkward until it suddenly feels perfect. Jawlensky was part of the expressionist movement, and I think you can really feel that in the way he uses color and form to express emotion, a bit like his contemporary, Kandinsky. It’s a painting that invites you to see the world in a new way, to embrace the ambiguity and to find beauty in the unexpected.