Пuineafowl 1917

Jan Mankes painted this guinea fowl with oil on canvas at the beginning of the 20th century. The colours are muted, somber, and somehow comforting. The ground and bird merge into one form and you just know that the making of this painting came out of intuition. I can only imagine what it must have been like to paint this; thinking about all those tiny white dots. The whole canvas feels like it’s vibrating with these spots. What was he thinking? Was Mankes thinking of other artists, like Vuillard, who played with patterns? There is something very peaceful about this bird; the painting has a quietness that I admire. These painters are all in conversation with each other, it’s like call and response across decades and centuries. This dialogue is where artists find inspiration, trying to create the conditions for some kind of unexpected magic.