Elle et Lui ; France XXe siècle 1922

"Elle et Lui" was made in France in the 20th century by George Barbier. The colour palette is quite muted, a world away from a painting like Matisse’s Bonheur de Vivre, yet the approach to mark making feels joyful and immediate. Look at the way the artist uses colour and line to evoke texture and form. The use of stippling and hatching creates a sense of depth, while the flat planes of colour give the image a graphic quality. See how the cloudlike forms in the sky are achieved with a simple blend of yellow and orange, and yet evoke a sense of endless space! For me, this image speaks to the magic of Venice, not in a literal way, but more as a kind of symbol – think of someone like Man Ray. Art embraces ambiguity and multiple interpretations over fixed or definitive meanings, and Barbier’s work celebrates art as an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time.