Jesus Christ and the sinner 1926

Emil Nolde painted "Jesus Christ and the sinner" with oils, and the thick strokes feel like he was really digging in, trying to excavate something profound. Imagine Nolde in his studio, wrestling with this scene, smearing the paint, maybe even using his fingers. The colors are intense, clashing, the faces raw with emotion. Look at the way he's rendered the faces, especially the red cheeks of the sinner. It’s like a mask, but also so vulnerable, like a child's flushed face after crying. Nolde was part of a generation of artists who wanted to get at something primal, something beyond the surface. I bet he was looking at artists like Munch, but bringing his own, northern European sensibility to it all. For me, painting is always a kind of conversation with the past, a way of grappling with the big questions through color and form. Nolde’s work is a testament to that ongoing dialogue, showing us that painting can still pack a punch, even after all these years.