The Fiance 1944

Wifredo Lam imagined this couple with oil on canvas, and, just look at that palette of greens and blues! I wonder what it was like for him when he was making it. The surface is alive with thin layers and sketch-like marks; he’s feeling his way through the painting, letting figures emerge—he’s searching, correcting. I want to know, what’s their story? A bride and groom? I see a goblet in one hand, a musical instrument in the other. Lam’s really playing with shapes here; seeing how to get the feeling of the thing, rather than the thing itself. That angular mark there, cutting across the face—is it an expression? A shadow? A doubt? Anyway, it’s exciting to see him using the language of cubism to work out his own vision; that’s the thing about painting, it’s always in conversation with the past, while pushing towards something new.