Painting 1914

Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso made this painting with oil on canvas, though we don’t know exactly when. Isn't it something how a few careful marks can change how we see? I see the materiality of the paint, the impasto is thick and gives the forms a sculptural feel. There are a lot of earth tones mixed with whites and greys, reds and oranges. The shapes are rough and the forms are somewhat unclear, like a puzzle we can't quite piece together. Look how the artist has divided the canvas into geometric blocks. Check out the smudgy edges around the central figure. The artist leaves space for interpretation. The artist's contemporary, Sonia Delaunay, who shared his interest in the synthesis of colour and form, is a good reference point. Painting, like any art form, is an ongoing dialogue, a conversation across time.