Untitled c. 1917

This untitled painting was made by Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso, and from the look of it, I'd say he made it with oil paint, probably with some collage elements. The colours are intense, almost clashing, but somehow they hold together, don't you think? I can imagine de Souza-Cardoso stepping back, squinting, and then diving back in with another swipe of colour. There's a purple rectangle with lots of circles, like keys on a machine, and the numbers scattered around. I'm thinking that he's asking: what is a painting and what is the world? What is a sign and what is a feeling? I see echoes of Picasso and Braque, but there’s something uniquely playful and energetic here. You can sense him pushing the boundaries. De Souza-Cardoso was part of a community of artists, bouncing ideas off each other, inspiring each other to see the world in new ways, much like we all do. The surface is a playground!