Flusslandschaft 1907

Max Pechstein made this river landscape with oil paint, and it's all about the brushstrokes. Each one is like a little decision, a dab of color that adds up to the whole. The texture is built up with these marks, thick in some spots, thin in others, creating a surface that feels alive. The colors—fiery oranges, deep blues, and sunny yellows—they're not blended smoothly, but laid next to each other, creating a kind of visual buzz. Look at the way he renders the figures in the foreground; they're just these hunks of red and blue, but somehow, they feel like people. It makes me think a little of Van Gogh, but with a rawer, more immediate feel. It’s like Pechstein is saying, "Here's what I saw, here's how I felt, and here's the energy of the moment." And that energy, that's what makes the painting sing.