Based on Leaf Forms and Spaces 1912

Arthur Dove made 'Based on Leaf Forms and Spaces' with oil, maybe, or tempera—something kind of matte and earthy. Look at how these shapes push and pull. It’s a tight composition, and he’s working these forms—maybe leaves, maybe something else—with a kind of blunt, textural touch. The colors are so understated, really muted. There’s this push between the darker reds and greens, and the softer whites and grays, and that interplay creates a kind of vibration. It’s like Dove is feeling his way through these forms, trying to capture something essential about them without getting too literal. And that one dark green leaf form, right there, it's like a little anchor in the composition. It suggests a certain solidity, but it’s also kind of dissolving into the background. Dove is doing something here with abstraction that feels so grounded, so connected to the natural world, a bit like Georgia O'Keeffe. It’s like he’s saying that nature itself is already an abstraction.