Love 1910

This is ‘Love’ by Raoul Dufy, a woodcut on paper, and it looks like it was made with a lot of bold cuts, real decisive gestures. I can just imagine him, you know, carving away at the block, trying to get these figures to emerge from the darkness. There is the title L'amour, so maybe this is about romantic love, but for me it's more about the pleasures of working with such stark contrasts, black and white; and the pleasures of art, and life. The shapes are so stylized, like they're part of a decorative pattern, but they're also full of life, the plant feels alive. I am also thinking how connected Dufy is to Matisse here. All painters are in a constant dialogue, I like to think, with the painters that came before them. What do you think?