Maturity 1912

Alexej von Jawlensky made this painting, "Maturity", with oil on board, and it feels like a build-up, a process of layering and finding. I love how the colors vibrate against each other. The yellow ochre background pushes forward, making the face almost float. Up close, you can see the individual strokes, the way he loaded the brush with paint, especially around the eyes. Those stark black lines give a hard edge, while the inner greens hint at something softer. The texture is incredible, thick impasto in some areas, smoother in others. It's almost sculptural, the way he built up the surface. I'm reminded of Emil Nolde, another expressionist, but Jawlensky has this unique focus on the face, the mask. What is concealed? What is revealed? It seems that Jawlensky really embraces this ambiguity, this push and pull, rather than providing answers.