Composition 1923

This painting, called 'Composition', was made by Janos Mattis-Teutsch, though when and with what is unknown to me. The palette is one of soft colours, the edges of the rounded forms are firmly outlined in black, while the application of paint is relatively loose and open. There's an area of pale blue in the top left corner, a sweeping diagonal that looks as though it was done in one go. This adds depth to the whole picture and also creates a kind of energy, pushing the stacked forms upwards like some expressionist totem. This upward movement is contained by the black lines or bars, which are straight and confident, a very interesting contrast to the fleshy forms. There's something of Kupka here, maybe, or even Miro, but the play between hard and soft is what holds the eye; Mattis-Teutsch keeps it unresolved, and that's why it's so good.