Robe Poème, L’Ange a Glissé… 1922

Sonia Delaunay made "Robe Poème, L’Ange a Glissé…" with what looks like gouache and crayon, and there's a real freedom in how the marks behave. It's all about process, you know? The surface has this handmade quality, like the paper wasn't stretched tight, and you can see all these different shapes and colors bumping up against each other. Look at the green circle right at the top, there’s a playful balance of tones and textures. Delaunay’s not trying to hide anything, it’s all right there on the surface. Everything feels so immediate and intuitive, like she's just letting the materials do their thing. Delaunay's work is often in conversation with other artists, and you can see some similarities with folks like Joan Miró, who also embraced a playful, improvisational approach to artmaking. Ultimately, it’s up to each of us to find our own meaning in the work.