Les Soleils 1929 - 1932

Andre Dunoyer de Segonzac made ‘Les Soleils’ using a kind of controlled chaos. Look at how he's built up the forms with quick, scratchy lines that feel almost frantic, but somehow they create a coherent image. It’s like he’s wrestling with the subject, trying to capture its essence through the sheer energy of the mark-making. The cat in the lower part of the print is just a dark, simple shape. It acts as a counterpoint to the chaotic thicket of lines surrounding it. It’s a moment of stillness in all that movement. The texture of the paper becomes part of the image, too, giving everything a kind of hazy, dreamlike quality. Segonzac reminds me a bit of Van Gogh in his use of expressive lines, but with a more restrained palette. This piece is a testament to how much can be conveyed with a simple medium and a lot of intention. It's about seeing, feeling, and then translating that onto paper with as much honesty as possible.