Cleopatra's Barge 1939

Andre Bauchant imagined ‘Cleopatra's Barge’ with oil on canvas. Look at that red, it’s like sealing wax – I bet it was fun to put down. Bauchant had quite the journey. He was a farmer who became a painter later in life. The so-called 'naïve' painters have always interested me. I wonder what he was thinking when he conjured this scene? All those tiny figures in the boat, and the dreamy landscape. I can almost feel the gentle rocking of the barge on the water, the heat of the sun, the weight of history, of love, of loss. It reminds me that art isn't about perfection; it's about feeling and seeing. It's about transforming how we see the world. And the world, in turn, can never be unseen. It's like we are all in one big painting conversation together, across time.