Legong dancer 1939

This painting of a Legong dancer was made by Romualdo Locatelli, though when exactly, we don’t know. There’s something about the brushwork that makes me think of the sheer, slippery joy of paint, applied wet-on-wet. I can almost feel the artist’s hand moving quickly, trying to capture the dancer’s fleeting grace. The ochre and browns of the background feel like they're trying to contain the burst of vivid greens and yellows in the dancer's costume. Look at the dancer’s arm outstretched – that gesture feels so alive, so full of energy. It's like Locatelli’s saying: here is a human who’s in the full flight of movement, a human who’s so connected to their body, and to something ancient and divine. I always think that painters are in conversation with one another across time. And that we keep building on what came before. That’s the beauty of painting, isn’t it? It is a constant exchange of ideas, inspiring each other’s creativity.