Rhythm 1912

Robert Delaunay made this diptych, Rhythm, with oil paint applied in a manner that feels intuitive and almost meditative. The materiality of the painting is quite striking. The paint isn't overly thick, but there's a definite texture, a sort of gentle, rolling topography created by the many layers. The colors, oh, the colors! They’re vivid, primary, and applied in concentric circles that suggest movement and depth. I'm drawn to the way Delaunay uses contrasting colors to create a sense of vibration. Look at the right panel. The interplay between the blues, reds, and yellows creates a visual push and pull, a dynamic energy that keeps the eye dancing across the surface. Delaunay’s work, with its embrace of pure color and abstract form, feels like a precursor to the color field paintings of the mid-20th century. It's as if he's set the stage for artists like Kenneth Noland, who would later explore the expressive potential of color in even more radical ways. In the end, art is all about conversations across time.