Cinco Melodias 1949

Xul Solar created this dreamscape painting ‘Cinco Melodias’ using watercolour in 1949. The painting is a conversation between colours, a playful exchange between the warm tones of the hills, and the cool blue of the sky. The colours shift and blend as the artist coaxes a world into existence, one full of mysterious, architectural forms and solitary figures traversing the landscape. I get the feeling that Solar worked intuitively, almost like a musician improvising a melody. There is an open invitation, a chance to wander and wonder. The pathways connect different realms of experience, and the eye follows these melodies, lingering on a particular detail, such as the woman’s face that emerges from one of the hills. Solar, like many artists, was deeply engaged with the history of painting. He looked at what others have done and then forged his own path. It is a reminder that art-making is a conversation across time, where artists inspire each other. It embraces uncertainty and multiple meanings.