Armoured Helmet 1956

Sidney Nolan painted this helmet, sometime during his career, with oil on canvas. The way the helmet kind of floats there, a bit clunky, makes me think about how we build up an image, bit by bit. It's like Nolan's thinking out loud with paint. The colours are really interesting here. See how he lays down the pigment in blocks, creating a layered surface where each stroke feels visible and deliberate. The brushwork itself is part of the story, I think. There's a real tension between the flat shapes and the illusion of depth, especially in that central section, giving the image dynamism and immediacy. I see a sort of kinship with other painters like Philip Guston who let their process be visible. Ultimately, it's this openness, this willingness to show the messy, unresolved aspects of artmaking, that makes it so compelling. It's like he's saying, "Here's a thing, but it could be many things. What do you see?"