Civilização 1929

Bernardo Marques made this magazine cover, Civilização, in 1929, and the blues, reds, and yellows feel super charged with graphic energy. You can almost feel the artist working, pushing and pulling shapes into place. I imagine Marques, cigarette in mouth, squinting at the composition and shifting it around, not unlike what I do in my studio. The figures feel simultaneously flat and alive, their angularity giving them a real sense of dynamism. You get the feeling that these aren't people as much as stylized representations of people. I mean, look at the accordion player's head, it's like a Cubist sculpture! The way Marques uses color is brilliant, each shade seems to vibrate against the other. You know, making a painting is really about participating in a long, ongoing conversation between artists, across time and space. It's so great to see Marques' contribution to that big, messy, beautiful conversation.