Composition 1922

Janos Mattis-Teutsch made this 'Composition' with oil paint, using a palette of reds, blues, yellows, greens, blacks, and whites. The image shimmers into being out of soft, cloud-like brush marks. I can imagine the artist starting with that pulsing red background, then adding the colored shapes one by one, like pieces of a puzzle. The painting feels like it’s about the act of seeing itself – trying to find some internal structure. That black line cutting through the centre must have been a late addition. Look at how the white and pink areas at the top of the painting sit next to the black and red. I wonder if Mattis-Teutsch was thinking about other painters like Kandinsky and Mondrian who were trying to find a new visual language? It’s all a bit dreamy and otherworldly. Painters are always looking, borrowing, and riffing off of each other, aren't they?