Påfåglar 1918

Nils Dardel made this in 1918, and it's called Påfåglar, which means "Peacocks" in Swedish, though I see only one white one rendered as a fluffy tree. It's a painting of figures out for a stroll – the paint is thinly applied, like colored-in drawings, and the composition has the feel of an illustration, with some of the figures sharply outlined. I'm interested in the cultural mash-up in this picture. There's a person in a kimono, and the guy on the left is holding a fan. This wasn't uncommon as artists like Henri Matisse and the Impressionists were inspired by Asian art and design. The other thing that strikes me is the figures gesturing to each other, which is common in Dardel’s work, as it is in the work of other painters like Picasso and Picabia. You can almost hear the chatter and gossip, the exclamations and laughter – the gestures say it all! Artists are always in dialogue with each other, riffing on each other’s ideas. And as viewers, we can join the conversation too.