Serpents multicolores 

Gaston Chaissac, sometime between 1930 and 1960, painted "Serpents multicolores," or "Multicolor Serpents." Chaissac, who worked as a shoe salesman, was largely a self-taught artist who maintained an outsider status despite friendships with prominent figures like Dubuffet. His experiences during the Second World War, including a battle with tuberculosis that kept him in isolation, profoundly influenced his art. Here, his signature style, rooted in Art Brut, embraces simplicity and directness, shunning academic polish. The snakes intertwine, becoming both playful and primal, a dichotomy reflecting Chaissac's struggle to reconcile modern life with existential questioning. The simple, almost childlike rendering of these powerful symbols asks us to reconsider the boundaries of perception. Is it naiveté or a knowing expression of our deepest fears and desires? This piece reflects how Chaissac channeled personal experiences into a universal language that resonates with our shared humanity.