Snow Falling in the Lane 1906

Edvard Munch made this painting, Snow Falling in the Lane, with oil on canvas. I’m struck by the directness of Munch’s marks, the quick flicks of paint building up a picture of a wintery scene, it's almost childlike. And there is something quite crude in the rendering of the figures, so roughly daubed as to be almost ghostly. The stark contrast between the snow-covered lane and the dark, brooding trees creates a palpable sense of isolation. Look how the paint is applied so thinly, almost sketch-like in places, letting the texture of the canvas show through and adding a sense of rawness. These trees could have been painted by Van Gogh, but they have that Nordic bleakness to them that nobody quite captures like Munch. And of course, snow is never white but an accumulation of blues and greys. Ultimately, Snow Falling in the Lane remains unresolved, inviting multiple interpretations and challenging our expectations of what painting can be.