A Party in the Artist's Home 1915

Julius Paulsen made *A Party in the Artist’s Home* using oil on canvas, though the date is unknown. I’m struck by how the people seem sunk into this muddy green-brown world, like they’re all melting into the furniture! The paint handling is so interesting – thick and thin in places, with these scratchy lines that define forms but also kind of dissolve them. Look at the way the light hits the red tablecloth; it's almost vibrating with these quick, broken brushstrokes. There’s a real feeling of being in the moment of painting. The texture is so present; you can almost feel the artist's hand moving across the canvas, building up these layers of color and light. It reminds me of the work of Vuillard, that same kind of domestic intimacy and hazy atmosphere. It’s like the painting is more about feeling than seeing, embracing the uncertain and unresolved.