Nine Discourses on Commodus, Part I 1963

Cy Twombly made this painting with paint on canvas, no date given. It's got this beautiful, pale gray ground with a grid hovering near the top. The grid feels like a structure, but it's also got these cloud-like, hazy marks within it, kinda dissolving the whole idea of order. I’m super interested in how Twombly layers and obscures. You can see the ghostly traces of white and whispers of yellow and blue, like half-remembered thoughts. The paint isn't thick or showy, but really thin and washy. There are dribbles toward the bottom of the picture plane, like the painting came alive and shed a tear or two. It reminds me of the work of Agnes Martin, where the grid also becomes a space for contemplation, not just a system. It's all about feeling your way through, embracing the messy and the unresolved, and seeing the beauty in that.