Study of the 'Dance' 1910

Raoul Dufy made this Study of the 'Dance' with paint, and it feels like he's chasing something fleeting, like a memory. The ochre and brown palette is so immediate, like he's snatched the colors right from the earth. Look at the dancer in the middle, with the lines on his back like some strange exoskeleton. It's so graphic, so intentional. The contrast between the solid blacks and the almost frantic white lines – it’s like he’s carving out form with pure energy. And the way the paint is applied, it's not precious. It's there to serve the image, to bring it to life. Dufy reminds me a bit of Matisse, with that bold, confident line and the way he flattens space. But Dufy's got a wildness, a certain kind of freedom that's all his own. It's not perfect, but it’s alive. It’s a study, an experiment, a moment captured in time.