Lilla Julaftonsklubben 1933

Nils Dardel made this painting, called "Lilla Julaftonsklubben", and just looking at it makes me feel like I am eavesdropping on a bizarre dream. I can imagine Dardel setting up his easel, maybe with a glass of something fizzy on the side. And it’s like, what happens if you take a bunch of formal portraits, stir in some playful caricature, and then add a pinch of the uncanny? You get this strange brew where these formally dressed figures mingle with floating cherubic heads, which feel both innocent and slightly menacing. There’s this one guy sprawled out on the floor – I wonder what Dardel was thinking when he painted him? Did he know him? Was he there, at the party? Look at how thin the paint is, and yet how the artist manages to give each of those faces a distinct personality. The devil is in the details, right? It puts me in mind of Ensor. I would love to see them in a show together. It makes you think about how painting isn't just about what you see, but also about what you feel. That’s what I call a good painting.