Girl in the greenery 1914

August Macke painted "Girl in the Greenery" with oil on canvas. It looks like he worked alla prima, wet on wet, making the painting in one go. You can see how he has pushed the paint around, how the colours blend together suggesting a hot summer's day, figures melting into nature. I feel for Macke as he lays down these strokes. The girls, in their summer hats, are captured with such bright hues. There are touches of red which feel so impulsive. It's like he is trying to capture a fleeting moment, a sense of light and movement, a feeling of joy and innocence. There's a dialogue between abstraction and figuration. Macke was part of the German Expressionist group, Der Blaue Reiter, who were interested in exploring spiritual expression through abstract forms. You can see it in this painting - this feeling of energy and connection, the ongoing conversation of art history. I love how painting allows for uncertainty. There are so many ways to interpret these dabs of paint.