Copyright: Public domain US
Max Pechstein made this oil painting, The Masked Woman, in 1910. Pechstein throws down these colors like he's wrestling with them. See how the reds of her lips and the trim of her collar just vibrate against the blues and whites of her face? It’s like he’s not just painting a portrait but trying to capture a feeling, a mood. The mask, that flat yellow stare, contrasts with the more expressive, almost violent brushstrokes everywhere else. Look at the hat, a wild explosion of green and black, so different from the mask's blankness. This is art as process, as a kind of raw expression, like he’s digging into something hidden. This painting reminds me a little of some of the Fauvist painters, like Matisse, with its bold use of color and flattened perspective. But Pechstein has a rawness, an edge, that's all his own.
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