Iconic views of Toledo 1936

Andre Masson made this painting, Iconic Views of Toledo, with oil on canvas. The palette is all fire – oranges, reds, with some stark whites thrown in, so you know it’s gonna burn. I love seeing a painter really go there, with the guts of process right out in the open. There’s a lot happening on the canvas, but what really grabs me is that figure up top, leaning down, pointing at that little multicolored orb. The paint handling is so physical, like he’s wrestling with the anatomy, trying to pin it down. It’s thick and thin, transparent and opaque, all at once. You can almost feel the push and pull of the brush, the way he’s layering and scraping. Masson reminds me a bit of Gorky. Both were trying to find new forms for old myths, but where Gorky is all airy grace, Masson is just raw, visceral energy. In the end, it’s not about what it means, but about how it makes you feel.