Third Allegory 1955

Ben Shahn made Third Allegory with ink and gouache, and the layering of those media gives it a really great, active surface. You can tell Shahn is interested in the push and pull of the process. Looking closely, the piece seems to build up from washes of colour to more defined, almost cartoonish shapes, like the dog-monster to the left. The colours are striking - blues, reds, and golds, but they're all a little bit off, creating a tension that makes the image pop. I keep coming back to the marks around the edge of the dog-monster's red scales – they are so physical and present. It’s like a dialogue between control and chance, a conversation between the artist and the materials. It’s tempting to see echoes of artists like Paul Klee here, but Shahn is very much his own man. He’s reminding us that art is a process of making and remaking, of questioning and exploring, and there’s always more than one way to see things.