Study After Titian I 1965

Frank Auerbach made this oil painting, Study After Titian I, with an approach to mark making that feels like a sculptor attacking clay. The colours feel earthy and raw, like they were mixed straight from the ground, a process of constant refinement. Up close, the painting becomes a landscape of its own, built from these thick, deliberate strokes. You can almost feel the weight of the paint, the force of Auerbach's hand. Look at that bold streak of white slashing across the center – it's like a lightning bolt, cutting through the layers of browns, reds, and blacks. It's this one gesture, this moment of raw energy, that holds the whole piece together. Auerbach's work reminds me a little of Soutine, that same urgency, that need to wrestle the paint into submission. In the end, these paintings aren't about fixed meanings but about the ongoing conversation between artists, between the past and the present.