The Funeral Procession of Alexander the Great 1940

André Bauchant made "The Funeral Procession of Alexander the Great" with oil on canvas. I like how the painting is so flat, the procession is happening right there, front and center. I love that the mountains in the background are so textured, almost like cracked earth, or crumpled paper. Each peak is meticulously rendered, like a small study in form and light. This painstaking detail gives the landscape a tactile quality, as though you could reach out and feel the roughness of the terrain. Bauchant is not trying to trick us with realism, but rather he embraces the physicality of the paint. Look at the procession itself, a vibrant contrast to the muted landscape. The bright reds and yellows of the figures and carriage create a lively rhythm that dances across the canvas. I'm reminded of Henri Rousseau in the way that Bauchant seems to embrace a child's view of the world. It is the same spirit that links folk art across the ages. It embraces the power of imagination over imitation.