Circe 1921

Rupert Bunny made this drawing, "Circe," and it is just amazing; it's like a pastel dream. Imagine Bunny hunched over the paper, pressing the colors in, building up this scene, layer upon layer. I love the way the figure on the left throws his arm up as if he knows something is up, like something bad might happen. Circe holds out the chalice, looking like she knows something he doesn't. It’s pretty scary, and tense. Bunny’s mark-making has this frenetic energy, a kind of obsessive attention to detail that reminds me of Odilon Redon’s pastels. In both artists, the surface vibrates with color and light, creating a sense of depth and space that is both alluring and unsettling. These artists are in constant dialogue with the past and with each other, building on and challenging each other’s ideas, pushing the boundaries of what painting can be.