Salomé 1924

Jean Metzinger made this painting, Salomé, at an unknown date with oil paint on canvas. The colors are muted, and the paint is flat, except on her beaded bikini and girdle where the texture is raised. Look at the way Metzinger applies the pigment, building up those tiny dots, one by one. I imagine the process must have been slow and meditative, a kind of mantra. The beads become a tactile presence that contrasts with the flat areas of muted color on the figure's body and surroundings. The painting reminds me of Léger, but it's much more stylized, and the color palette is very subdued. What does it all mean? Art doesn’t have to have a fixed meaning, and I think that is precisely the point. It’s more about the feeling you get.