L'Apparition a Marie de Magdala 1978

Alfred Manessier made "L'Apparition a Marie de Magdala" with paint, layering colour in quick strokes. You can feel the physicality of the paint, how it builds up, almost like he's wrestling with the medium. The orange background peeks through, grounding the flurry of marks, but the dance of colour on top is where the action is. There's a real sense of immediacy, as if he's trying to capture something fleeting, a burst of energy or emotion. Notice that cluster of blue, turquoise, and purple marks on the left. It's like a little storm of feeling, contained within the larger composition. Manessier seems to be talking to artists like Sonia Delaunay. Both knew how to bring colour to life. There is something special in the way art embraces not knowing.