Fille au corsage rouge et bouquet c. 1934

Marc Chagall made this painting, ‘Fille au corsage rouge et bouquet’, with thick brushstrokes and a vibrant palette of reds, pinks, blues, and greens. Imagine him standing here, building up layers of paint, stroke by stroke, watching the image emerge—a woman, a vase, a bouquet. I sympathize with Chagall, the way he has trowelled on the paint, it’s like sculpture! You can almost feel the weight and texture of the impasto, that visceral connection between the artist’s hand and the painted surface. It reminds me of Soutine, who would use a palette knife to build up these incredible layers of color. Look at the red of her dress, how it pulsates with energy, while those roses become almost abstract forms, throbbing with life. And it makes you wonder what he was thinking, what stories he was trying to tell, or maybe just a feeling, you know? Artists are always in conversation, borrowing, responding, riffing off each other’s ideas. Painting is embodied expression—a dance with ambiguity, it’s open to interpretation, to questioning, and to ever-evolving meaning.