Force and Reason 1939

John Duncan made this painting, Force and Reason, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. The cool tones and diffused light give it a very particular, slightly dreamy, atmosphere. The first thing that struck me about this painting is its matte surface. You can really see the brushstrokes, particularly in the rendering of the Sphinx. See the ways the artist has used small, almost dry brush marks to define the texture of the creature's fur and feathers? It's like he’s building form through touch, little marks accumulating to create a palpable surface. I love how that texture contrasts with the smooth, almost porcelain-like finish of the human figure. This contrast speaks to the painting's theme, this tension between the rough and the smooth, the earthly and the ideal. It reminds me of the Symbolist painters, like Gustave Moreau, who were also interested in these kinds of mythical subjects. Ultimately the painting seems more interested in questions than answers. It lingers in a space of ambiguity, inviting us to contemplate these fundamental questions of existence without offering any easy answers.