Girl on a red carpet 1912

Felice Casorati made this painting, Girl on a red carpet, with oil on canvas. The girl is lying in a sea of red flowers; her soft, long body creates a diagonal that extends across the plane. The surface is matte, like tempera, though it's oil, so maybe he diluted it. She's in a room with a red carpet, but it feels like the interior of the mind—a reverie of girlhood. I’m imagining Casorati thinking about Piero Della Francesca, but without the hyper-clarity. Maybe he was like, "how can I make it dreamy and strange?" I keep thinking about this blue dress, the color is pretty unreal. It makes me think of Vuillard, but with something stranger going on. In painting, like life, we are in conversation, exchanging ideas across time, inspiring one another’s creativity. Here, Casorati embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations.