Mediterranee 1952 - 1953

Nicolas de Staël made this painting, Mediterranee, using oil paint to build up a surface of blocky color. What I love about it is that it's like a puzzle, each piece fitted together just so. The paint is laid on pretty thick, you can see the texture, almost like the surface of a wall. The way he uses color is so intuitive. Look at how the blues sit next to the reds and whites, creating this sense of depth and space. It's not just about representation, but about feeling. I'm drawn to the drips of paint at the bottom of the image, little rivulets that pull your eye downwards. It reminds me of the work of Milton Avery, with his simplified forms and focus on color relationships. De Staël's painting invites us to slow down, to consider the process of its making, and to get lost in its ambiguous beauty.