Still LIfe with Big Bear 1926

Louis Marcoussis made this Cubist still life, with its palette of black, red, brown, and blue, inviting us into his world of fractured forms. It is not so still, is it? I find it's always exciting to consider what it was like for the artist to make this work. Marcoussis' choice of color and geometric shapes creates a sense of depth. I keep coming back to the guitar strings and the red fish. Are those his lips up there? The composition feels carefully constructed, a dance of shape and color and feeling, while maintaining a sense of playful spontaneity. It reminds me of Braque and Picasso, but also artists who came later, like David Hockney, who were similarly playing with perspective. The Cubists were all constantly testing each other, throwing down the gauntlet. I imagine them all drinking together in a smoky room in Paris, arguing about the future of painting. What a time to be alive!