Man and Woman by the Window with Potted Plants 1911

This is “Man and Woman by the Window with Potted Plants,” made by Edvard Munch, and it’s all about feeling. It’s easy to get hung up on what a painting depicts but look at how the painting does what it does. In this one, the paint is scrubbed into the canvas, like he’s trying to get the image out of his head. It reminds me that making art is a process of wrestling with materials. The woman’s face is made with these intense reds and oranges. The colour is so strong, it's as if her emotions are burning right through. There’s something about the way Munch uses color and texture, the raw and slightly unresolved brushstrokes, that reminds me of Paula Modersohn-Becker. It’s like they’re both reaching for something just beyond what words can express, something that lives in the gut.