Worpsweder Landscape 1908

Paula Modersohn-Becker made this painting, Worpsweder Landscape, with oil on canvas. The marks here feel really intuitive and direct, don't they? The way the colors are laid down, the thick strokes of the brush, you can really feel her process. It's like she's showing us how she sees, not just what she sees. I'm drawn to the texture of the house. The way she's built it up with these bricky reds and browns, it almost feels like you could reach out and touch it. It's not about being smooth or perfect, it's about capturing the realness of that building, that place. The brush strokes are so present and honest, it makes you think about the act of painting itself. I wonder if she knew Cezanne's work. I feel like there's a similar sensibility in the way she's approaching form. Ultimately, it's this openness, this willingness to let the painting be a record of her own looking, that makes it so compelling.