Mary with a red hat 1902

Franz von Stuck's 'Mary with a red hat' shimmers with the green paint thickly applied, sitting beneath Mary's gaze. Imagine Stuck in his studio, pushing the paint around, getting that background just right. The way he's dabbed and swirled the green, it’s almost like he's trying to conjure the whole world behind her. The red hat is so bold and painterly – it's not just a hat, it’s a statement! Stuck was part of the Munich Secession, and you see that rebellious spirit here, the urge to break away from tradition, to explore new ways of seeing and feeling. Think about Klimt, or even Munch – there's a similar intensity, a desire to capture something raw and real. It's like he's saying, "Let's not just paint pretty pictures, let's paint the way things feel, the way they resonate inside us."