The Red Cape 1902

Alphonse Mucha painted this artwork called 'The Red Cape' using oil on canvas. Look at the deep reds and how they dominate the scene. I wonder what it was like for Mucha to mix those pigments, to make the color resonate just so. He probably stood back, squinting, adjusting, and feeling his way through it. I imagine Mucha, thinking about all the artists who'd used red before him, how Titian made it sing or how the color signified power. He must have felt part of that lineage, that ongoing conversation. The physicality of the medium is important here, it's not just an image but an object made with intention. There is a sense of calm, the quiet act of reading, and the comfort of being engrossed in another world. It reminds me that making art, like reading, is about opening up possibilities, not closing them down.