Old Block of Houses 1958

Carlos Botelho made this painting of an old block of houses with oil. The painting’s a celebration of process, right? I mean, look at the way the forms are built up with these bold, almost childlike marks. The texture is key here; you can practically feel the drag of the brush across the canvas. Notice how the red kind of vibrates against the blues and greens, creating this wild visual rhythm. There's a particular spot, that blue rectangle near the top, where the paint's edge is so sharp it almost feels cut out. That crispness anchors the whole composition. Botelho reminds me a bit of Fernand Léger, with his focus on simple, geometric forms. But there's also this raw, emotional directness to Botelho's work that's all his own. It's like he's inviting us to see the world not as it is, but as it feels.