archers 1935 - 1937

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made "Archers" with oil paint, and look at how freely he’s throwing down those colours, like he’s not trying to make it perfect, but just get the feeling right. Check out the layering of those figures, like stencils, one shape on top of another. The colours are kind of earthy, but then he throws in this crazy lilac on the archer's sleeves, and it's like, what?! Those edges aren't blended, they just crash into each other, and that's what makes it so alive, it’s like the painting is still figuring itself out. I love the way that the bodies almost melt into the landscape. For me, this painting brings to mind the work of Marsden Hartley, who also used a simplified, flattened picture plane to convey a sense of immediacy. It reminds us that art is a conversation across time.