Premier Disque 1913

Robert Delaunay made this circular painting with oil on canvas, and looking at it, I imagine him building it up, one color at a time, in concentric rings. The color palette is pretty earthy – lots of browns, reds, and blues – and the brushstrokes feel kind of tentative, as if the painting is slowly revealing itself. The colors bump up against each other, creating a lovely sense of vibration and movement. I wonder if Delaunay was thinking about musical harmonies when he made this painting, trying to orchestrate the colors like notes in a chord. I wonder if he thought he was capturing the perfect, first, disc? The surface has a cool texture too, a kind of matte finish that makes the colors feel soft and diffused, reminding me a bit of Hilma af Klint, or even some of the early American modernists. It’s as if he was trying to find a new language for painting, one that could capture the energy and dynamism of the modern world. It's a conversation that continues today.