Hunter 1919

Magnus Enckell made this painting called ‘Hunter’ with oil on canvas. See how the greens and blues vibrate against the browns and tans? It looks like Enckell built this up, stroke by stroke, working fast and trying to catch the light. I can imagine him outside, trying to keep up with his perception. I love the guy’s face, how Enckell uses those peachy tones to make him look both vulnerable and resolved. It makes you think about the guy's interior life. And those hands holding the gun? You can see the tension in the brushwork, in the way the paint kind of clumps there. He is making an exchange between the natural world and the society he lives in. Painters have always riffed off each other, you know? This painting speaks to other paintings, all these connections across time. It shows that painting can contain complexity and contradiction, and keep the conversation going.