St. George 1912

August Macke's *St. George* is a flurry of ochre, blue, and cream, a scene emerging from the canvas with a sense of play. I can imagine Macke approaching the canvas, maybe with a few sketches, but mostly trusting his gut, letting the image come into being stroke by stroke. It's interesting how he uses the paint, sometimes thin washes, other times thicker scumbles that catch the light. The black line of the lance, it’s so direct, bisecting the composition with a graphic zing. I wonder if Macke was thinking about Kandinsky's riders, or maybe Franz Marc’s animals when he made this. I get the sense of the artist experimenting with colour and form to create a sense of rhythm. There is a sense of movement in the rounded shapes that surround the horse and dragon. It makes me think about the way artists are in an ongoing dialogue, riffing off each other’s ideas, pushing the boundaries of what painting can be. It’s not about fixed meanings, but about keeping the conversation flowing.