SODOM 1996

Ernst Fuchs made this painting called Sodom, with dark, fantastical colours and haunting textures that suggest a story of ruin. The figures here are draped and mournful, carved from stone as much as painted with pigment, and their gestures tell their emotional state, a hand raised in despair, another reaching out in vain. I imagine Fuchs, with each brushstroke, layering not just color, but also a weight of history and feeling. It must have been an experience of excavation, unearthing these forms from some deep place within, then the labour of dragging them into the light. You can see the influence of the old masters, but there's also something so personal, even weird about the whole effect, a blend of reverence and rebellion. The scene reminds us that artists are always in conversation, building upon and challenging what came before, creating their own unique visions in the process. It speaks to the power of painting as a journey, rather than a destination.