Portrait of André Salmon 1942

Marie Laurencin made this portrait of André Salmon with paint, and I love how she lets the painting declare itself as a painting. Look at that bow-tie – it's practically vibrating with energy. Laurencin doesn't try to hide the strokes; instead, she piles them on, thick and juicy, building up this velvety black mass that somehow still reads as a bow-tie, and as paint. It's so physical, you can almost feel the brushstrokes. The green background, with its vertical swipes, gives you a sense of the speed and urgency of the artist's hand. Laurencin reminds me of Francis Picabia, someone else who loved to play with form and representation. Like Picabia, she's not trying to trick you into thinking this is a real person. She wants you to see the artifice, the making, the raw energy of creation. It's a portrait, sure, but it's also a celebration of painting itself.