Tulpen 1913 - 1915

Christian Rohlfs made this painting, "Tulpen," with what looks like gouache or watercolor, maybe even pastel — something immediate and juicy. I can feel him searching for the forms of these tulips. It is like the painting came into being through a process of intuition and quick decisions. I can imagine him standing there, brush in hand, trying to capture the essence of these flowers before they wilted. The way he layers the strokes of green, blue, and red—it’s almost like he’s building a garden right on the paper. These aren't your typical still-life tulips, carefully arranged. Rohlfs is getting something deeper here. Look at that stroke of dark blue looping around a cluster of greens – it’s so gestural. It's full of energy and speaks to the relationship between seeing and feeling. Rohlfs’ painting reminds us that we're all part of a long conversation, a shared history of mark-making that continues to inspire new ways of seeing.