Upper Manhattan 1917

Thomas Hart Benton made this painting, Upper Manhattan, with oil on canvas, and it's all about the dance of color and form, right? I can imagine Benton, wrestling with the canvas, trying to capture the essence of the place. The paint is applied with such energy. See those bold strokes of red, green, and orange? They create this pulsing rhythm, like the city itself is alive and breathing. The way he's handled the paint, thick and luscious in some areas, almost translucent in others—it's like he's building up the image, layer by layer, memory by memory. It reminds me of Marsden Hartley's landscapes, or even some of the early Fauvist painters. It’s like a conversation across time and space. Artists are always in dialogue with each other, picking up ideas, pushing back against conventions, and ultimately, trying to make sense of the world through their own unique lens. Painting is a space of inquiry, where meaning is never fixed but constantly evolving.