The Haunting Dancer 1911

Gino Severini made The Haunting Dancer with oil on canvas, using this amazing stippling technique where everything is made up of tiny dots. It’s like he built the whole world from scratch, one dab at a time! Look at the faces; they’re not quite there, are they? Just suggested, floating in this sea of color and pattern. There’s something spooky and fragmented about the whole image. See how the blues and blacks seem to vibrate against the pale pinks and oranges? And those cats! Those little black cats lurking amongst the dancers – what’s that all about? I love how he’s used the texture and layering of the paint to create a sense of movement. The way Severini breaks down form reminds me of Picasso, or maybe even Braque, but he’s doing his own thing here, adding a dash of Italian flair. Art is always about conversations; you can see echoes of the past, but every artist brings something new to the table. And with this painting, Severini invites us into a world that’s always in flux, a haunting dance between seeing and feeling.