Blaue Magnolie 1929

Christian Rohlfs made this painting of a blue magnolia with what looks like layered strokes of watercolor and gouache. The bloom is suggested, rather than described, and surrounded by soft blues and greens and browns. I like to imagine Rohlfs stepping back, squinting, adding another layer of pigment, maybe wiping it away, building up the image. Did he have a photo? Was he looking at a real flower? It's like he’s building the painting out of pure sensation. The texture is so important here: the rough paper, the way the paint sits on the surface, not quite blending, but vibrating. Look at the dark blue strokes around the central bloom; these dabs of color are filled with such intention and meaning. It reminds me a little of Emil Nolde’s flower paintings, that same expressive use of color and loose brushwork. We are all, as painters, in conversation, aren’t we? Painting is like thinking with your hands, embracing the messy, uncertain process, and letting the image emerge. There is no single way to read this; it is open and alive.