Tapis vert 1953

Victor Brauner made this small painting, Tapis vert, in 1953, with thin layers of oil on canvas, maybe in one sitting. Look at these figures – they seem like a cast of characters in a play, caught between their roles, with their strange geometries creating some odd relationships. The painting feels like a conversation, as the artist finds a place for each character and each object, almost by chance. I wonder what Brauner was thinking when he made it, like did the blue donkey come first, or did it just emerge from the process? The colors are a bit chalky and opaque, like a memory fading away. There’s an odd flatness, and the figures and objects are strangely simplified, but the overall effect is kind of charming. This reminds me a little bit of outsider art. Brauner is having a conversation with the history of painting here, and with other artists, maybe like Paul Klee, and he’s letting us listen in. Painting is like that, an ongoing discussion, an exchange of ideas across time that inspires creativity.