The Flight c. 1912

Moriz Melzer made this print called 'The Flight'; I'm not sure when. The colours here are so evocative and strange. The artist has put down a layer of paint that’s neither too thick, nor too thin. It feels like he is allowing a sense of process to show through, but what’s so interesting is how he creates the effect of the figures being lit from within; see how the strange green of the figure on the left glows against the darkness behind? I love the way the blue brushstrokes in the sky give the whole scene a surreal and dreamlike feeling, a sense of foreboding, almost. The whole thing reminds me of early woodcuts by Munch, in the way the artist builds up the image in blocks of colour, allowing the image to emerge through a process of building up layers. What is striking is that the meaning of the scene is uncertain, it embraces multiple interpretations.