Prodigal 1959

Albert Bloch created 'Prodigal' with what looks like oil paint, and lots of it, judging by the thick, crusty surfaces and muted, earthy tones. Imagine Bloch in the studio, wrestling with these figures. He’s pushing paint around, wiping it away, and then piling it back on. Look closely, and you can see how the figures emerge from a haze of layered brushstrokes. Their forms are not sharply defined but seem to coalesce out of a dream. Maybe Bloch was thinking about loss, return, and forgiveness while he was making this. I’m thinking about Goya and Rouault, artists who also understood that painting could be a way to grapple with the big, messy stuff of life and death. Check out how the brushstrokes around the central figure create a sense of movement and emotion. It’s like Bloch is using the paint itself to communicate the internal turmoil and spiritual journey of the prodigal son. It reminds me that painting isn't just about what we see, but how we feel.