Vase with Carnations 1907

Stefan Luchian made "Vase with Carnations" with oil on canvas, and it's a riot of brushstrokes, mostly soft whites and reds punctuated by touches of teal. I can imagine Luchian, mixing the paint, working it wet into wet, pushing it around on the canvas, trying to capture the ephemeral beauty of flowers. I wonder what he was thinking as he built up the layers, one stroke at a time. The paint is thick, almost sculptural, and the surface has this amazing texture, where you can almost feel the movement of the artist's hand. Look at how the flowers aren't quite white, but subtly shaded with pink and cream, how that single fallen flower in the foreground really pops. Luchian's flowers remind me of Van Gogh's, both artists using painting to explore feeling. It's like they're having a conversation across time, each inspiring the other to see the world in new ways. Painting is like that, an ongoing exchange of ideas, a way of keeping the dialogue alive.