Head of a Peasant Woman 1903

Paula Modersohn-Becker made this oil painting, Head of a Peasant Woman, with visible brushstrokes and a muted palette. You can really see the process here, it’s not about hiding the work, but showing it. The texture’s quite something, isn’t it? Thick paint, applied in layers. Look closely, and you can almost feel the grit of the pigment. The colours, though earthy, are also kind of luminous. Modersohn-Becker coaxes a light out of them. I'm drawn to the way she models the cheekbones with these short, choppy strokes. It’s not conventionally beautiful, but there's something so real, so unflinching about her gaze. She reminds me a bit of Van Gogh, in her willingness to embrace the raw, imperfect aspects of life. It's all about that ongoing conversation between artists across time, grappling with similar questions, finding their own answers. And, as always, it's more about the questions than the answers, right?