Ancestor (Ancêtre) 1965

This is 'Ancestor' by Pierre Alechinsky, made with some kind of printmaking process. You can see it's all about the linework, looping and swirling with this incredible energy. The colors -- rusty reds, greens, and a yellow ochre -- they're not filling in the lines so much as adding another layer of chaos and life. You get the feeling of looking at something ancient, maybe a cave painting. The way those lines vibrate together, it creates this sense of movement, like the face is breathing or shifting right in front of you. It's like a fever dream, isn't it? That single looping line that defines the right eye, how it creates a sense of depth. The way it all comes together to form a face staring back at you from who knows when? I can see some similarities with Karel Appel, also working in the Cobra movement. They both shared this raw, primal, energy. Anyway, I think the beauty is that it doesn't give you any easy answers.