Dr. Linde’s Sons 1903

Edvard Munch made "Dr. Linde's Sons" with oil on canvas, and what strikes me is the way the brushstrokes aren't trying to hide, they're part of the story. You can see the process. Look at how Munch layers the paint, thin in places, thick in others, like he's building up these kids from the ground up. There's this great swirl of pale color behind the boy on the right, almost like a halo, but rough, and not at all precious. The paint isn't blended perfectly, you can see all the marks he made. It's kind of raw, kind of exposed, which is what I love about it. It's like he's letting us in on his thinking, or feeling. And that makes me think of someone like Francis Bacon, who also wasn't afraid to leave the mess in. They both seem to be saying that life is messy, so why shouldn't art be? It's not about perfection, it's about getting something real down on the canvas.