Great Matchmaker 2019

Michael Cheval made ‘Great Matchmaker’ with oil paint, and I can only imagine the hours of layering, and blending that went into this elaborate canvas. I wonder what it was like for Cheval to create this. Did he start with the red-dressed figure in the foreground and then build the scene around her? I think the way he used the oil paints creates an almost surreal, dreamlike feel; you get lost in the details, like the figure riding the red horse far away. I love how Cheval's approach is reminiscent of the Old Masters, yet he brings a modern sensibility to his work. Cheval's art is part of a larger story about art, where artists are constantly looking at and responding to one another's work, sometimes across time, inspiring new ideas. This painting shows that painting isn't about clear answers, but about exploring and questioning, making room for different ways of seeing and feeling.