L'Apparition a Marie de Magdala 1978

Alfred Manessier made 'L'Apparition a Marie de Magdala' with generous brushstrokes and a vibrant palette that feels like a burst of light. I can almost see him at work, layering colors, maybe stepping back, squinting, then diving back in with another stroke. It's all about the push and pull of color and form. The burnt orange grounds the composition, while those stabs of blues, greens, and pinks create a sense of movement, like something is emerging or radiating outwards. I imagine Manessier thinking about light, about how it breaks apart and dances on surfaces. There's a kinship here with other painters who chased the ineffable, like Turner, whose canvases dissolve into pure sensation. But Manessier brings his own particular sensibility, a kind of joyous intensity, to the act of painting. We artists, we're all in conversation with each other, riffing on themes, inspiring new ways of seeing. We start with a mark and see where it leads us!