Dahlias Au Soleil c. 1925

Henri Martin made this painting of Dahlias, maybe in France, maybe whenever dahlias were in season! I love the way the whole thing is made of dots, it's so methodical, like knitting, or weaving. Each little dab of colour has its own space, but together they make this gorgeous, vibrating scene. It really gets you thinking about how much work goes into a painting, and how the artist is carefully building up the image, bit by bit. The tablecloth is just layers of tinted white, it's beautiful. Look at the way he uses the smallest touches of blue and purple in the highlights. Those dabs of paint feel like more than just colour, they give the table a real sense of texture and depth. The way the sunlight catches on the fabric makes it feel alive and tangible. This feels like Monet filtered through Seurat, that feeling of light and colour, but with a system. And the system is the painting!