Cattle 1966

Alfred Krupa made this painting, called 'Cattle', using ink, and you can really see that process in the way the animals have been created with bold, fast, brushstrokes, building an image out of lines. The ink has a fantastic fluidity to it; you can see where the artist has allowed the ink to pool and bleed, creating areas of intense black that contrast with the untouched white of the paper. Look how Krupa has used these fluid lines to suggest movement and energy; the cattle are almost vibrating with life. See the way he has looped the lines back on themselves to describe the animals' bodies. It feels like you’re right there in the middle of a bustling herd. This immediate approach recalls some of the earliest examples of art making, like the cave paintings at Lascaux, and reflects a tradition of animal representation that spans across art history. For me, that’s where the magic of art lies, in this connection to the past, and the way artists build on the ideas of those who came before. There is never a final word, just a continuous conversation.