Mutation de la Natalie 1957

Victor Brauner made 'Mutation de la Natalie' with oil on canvas sometime in the mid-twentieth century. Look at the texture of the yellow background, see how it’s not quite flat? I imagine him, brush in hand, building up the ground, maybe scraping it back, and adding a bit more. I wonder if Brauner felt like he was mutating as he made this painting? This process of trial and error must have been so exciting! The painting seems to come out of nowhere. The flatness of the rendered body is so matter-of-fact against the rough ground. The eyes stare out at us, with a directness that is uncanny. It feels like there is something to discover. For Brauner and other artists, paintings are always in conversation with one another. His work makes me think of Picasso and all the possibilities painting offers in terms of ambiguity, and, of course, mutation.