Silakka Asetelma 1918

This small painting, ‘Silakka Asetelma’, was made by Tyko Sallinen, but the date is unknown. The whole thing is built with a kind of scumbling, a layered stroke, which is how painting becomes a record of a process. You can see it in the way the light hits the fish, and it’s almost a violent motion, but so controlled. The dark, almost claustrophobic background and the rough handling of paint make the fish seem like they're struggling, like they've been pulled from some deep, cold sea. Notice the dark, almost bruised blues around the plate, and how the fish are streaked with red, which feels visceral. Even the objects in the background, like the mug, are built from these heavy, tactile marks. The whole piece has an emotional weight. It reminds me of Paula Modersohn-Becker, who used color in a similar way, not to describe, but to convey deep feeling. It’s a reminder that a painting isn't just a picture, it's a way of thinking.