Le Cheval de Carrousel 1923

Constant Permeke gave us this little painting of a carousel horse, using oil paint, and a muted palette of browns and grays. You know, sometimes the most interesting thing about a painting is just how the paint moves around. Here, the paint has got some serious texture. It’s not smooth, it’s almost clotted in places, like he was really wrestling with the stuff. Look at the way he built up the body of the horse – see how the strokes sort of describe the form? It's solid. And that thick vertical line of gold behind, the pole – it slices through the gloom like a ray of light. The paint is really doing some heavy lifting. Permeke reminds me a little of Beckmann, in the way he's able to find the monumental in the everyday. It's all about how you look, and what you choose to see. In the end, art's about embracing the questions, not nailing down the answers.