UNTITLED (BABOON) 1925

This is Alexander Calder’s "Untitled (Baboon)" and it looks like it's made with black paint on some kind of paper or card. What really grabs me is its immediacy; it’s like Calder just went for it, capturing the essence of the baboon with these confident, bold strokes. It’s not about perfection or detail, it's more about a feeling, a sense of the animal's presence. You can see the texture of the paper, almost feel the drag of the brush. The black paint is thick in some areas, almost like ink, giving the baboon a weight and a solidity. Look at the way he's done the head. It’s just a few confident marks, but you instantly know what it is. It’s like a shorthand, a visual language that Calder understood so well. This piece reminds me of Matisse’s cut-outs, where he was also exploring form and shape with a similar kind of playful simplicity. Both artists invite us to see the world with fresh eyes, to appreciate the beauty in the everyday. It’s this constant dialogue, this exchange of ideas across time, that makes art such an ongoing adventure.