Composition 1923

Janos Mattis-Teutsch made this "Composition" painting with what looks like oil on canvas. It's all stacked, rounded shapes in reds, blues, and purples, bisected by some rather assertive black lines, all on a pale blue ground. I can imagine Mattis-Teutsch, brush in hand, circling these forms, figuring out how to make them sit together, push against each other, how to make them feel solid but still float on the canvas. Painting isn't just about what you see, it’s about feeling your way through a problem. The way the black lines cut through the soft shapes is really interesting to me. They're like bars, but they also create a sense of depth, pushing the shapes back and forth in space. That curly red shape near the top, for example, feels like a very deliberate move, a moment of improvisation that brings the whole painting to life. It reminds me a bit of Hilma af Klint, someone else trying to find new forms to express some kind of inner world.