Movement No. 10 1917

Marsden Hartley made "Movement No. 10" with oil paint on canvas and I can really see the working process in the result. The colors here are muted, almost like looking through a misted window, but there's something about the way he stacks the objects that feels solid. The black plate anchors the whole scene, a dark, matte circle that contrasts with the pale fruit and folded cloth. I like the way the pear sits right in the middle, its simple shape echoing the roundness of the plate beneath it. Up close, you can see the texture of the brushstrokes, especially in the way Hartley builds up the whites and grays. It's almost sculptural. Hartley was always trying to find a balance between representation and abstraction, like Cézanne also. And in the end, it's not about what you see, but how you see it.