Combat 1927

José Clemente Orozco wrestled with oil on canvas to make this painting, Combat. Just look at that blue sky, so different from the browns and whites that dominate the scene. It's like a memory of peace, or perhaps a hope. You can almost feel Orozco digging into the canvas, smearing and scraping, trying to capture something raw and true. It's a dance of dark and light, a struggle made visible. I imagine Orozco standing before this canvas, his mind full of the weight of history, the desperation of human conflict. How do you paint violence? How do you make paint capture the feeling of bodies piled upon bodies, of fear and aggression? You can see him searching, reworking, never settling for easy answers. The way that figure raises their knife – it's not just an arm, it's a question. He's in conversation with Goya, with Picasso, with all the artists who have tried to make sense of the absurd tragedy of war. It's the same conversation painters are still having today.