Composition 1919

Editor: So here we have "Composition," painted in 1919 by Janos Mattis-Teutsch, done in oil paint. It's... vibrant, almost chaotic. What's striking is the organic feel of these abstract shapes. I am not sure what's going on. What do you see in it? Curator: Well, let’s consider the year: 1919. Europe’s just emerged from the horrors of the First World War. Consider the social and political climate - what do you think the public wanted from art at the time? Do you imagine they yearned for perfect realism, or an escape? Editor: An escape, maybe a new way to see the world? A painting like this definitely wouldn't remind anyone of the trenches! Curator: Precisely. Mattis-Teutsch, as part of the avant-garde movement, rejected traditional representation. Think of Expressionism and its impact. Instead, he offers us an abstracted vision, perhaps a visualization of inner feelings, but crucially, one intended for a public grappling with trauma and immense change. Note how even the colors work to build emotions, rather than simply depict recognizable forms. Editor: It’s like he's using the colours and shapes to bypass our conscious thought. A direct route to the emotional parts of the brain? Curator: That’s a good way of putting it! And notice how the organic forms—suggesting growth and life—contrast with the hard-edged geometry creeping into art at the time, a geometry associated with the machine age. Mattis-Teutsch provides an alternative path forward. The “composition” is offering hope amidst turmoil. It uses emotion as a symbol to offer resolution through colour and dynamic composition. Editor: It is easy to consider "abstract" and forget about its context, as though it floated outside the real world. Curator: Absolutely. Art always exists within a cultural and historical web. Exploring those connections gives "Composition" a new and compelling resonance. It transforms the painting from simply lines and colour into an artwork, capable of acting as both a historical record and a symbol of hope in a damaged world.