Le lien secret 1964

Victor Brauner made this painting, "Le lien secret," with paint, but when and where, I am not sure. The colors are like what's left in the tubes at the end of the day: muted browns, tans, and greens. It's almost like he found them in the back of the studio. I wonder how important color mixing was to Brauner? He doesn't seem so concerned with it, which, in turn, gives the composition a flat affect. The layering of colors isn't seamless. It's a process, much like art-making, in which the work is not perfect but rather beautiful and engaging because of its rough edges. Look at the way the eye is painted at the top of the painting. There is no defining outline, but we know exactly what it is. Brauner seems to have something in common with other surrealist painters like Max Ernst, who were interested in the subconscious and dreams as a way of accessing new kinds of imagery.