Vrouw steunend op twee vuisten 1944

Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman made this piece, 'Woman Resting on Two Fists,' and you can tell he's really feeling his way through it. The colors are laid down in these open, honest gestures - like he's building the image through a series of intuitive decisions. Look at the way the colors sit next to each other. The pink and blue background creates this strange tension, but then there’s the earthy green and the muted flesh tones tying it all together. Werkman isn't trying to hide anything. You can see the brushstrokes, the way the paint is applied, thick in some places, almost transparent in others. Focus on the way he’s built the face. The eyes are these simple, dark lines, and the mouth is barely there, but somehow, she feels present. It’s like Werkman is saying, 'Here is a person, raw and unfiltered.' Werkman reminds me of Marsden Hartley, another artist who wasn’t afraid to let his emotions bleed into his work. Both show us that art doesn’t always have to be perfect; sometimes, it just needs to be real.