Composition (Attitudes) 1930

Janos Mattis-Teutsch’s painting, Composition (Attitudes), arranges figures and geometric blocks in a carefully orchestrated space, using flat planes of blue and red-brown against a dark background. I can almost feel Mattis-Teutsch building up this composition, placing each shape and figure with care, as if arranging actors on a stage. The red-brown figures are so stylized, so reduced to their essential forms, that they become symbols of human presence. The blues—ranging from deep indigo to lighter cerulean—create a cool, contemplative atmosphere. The way the artist layers these geometric forms, it’s as if he’s inviting us to decode a secret language. Imagine him stepping back, squinting, adjusting, and fine-tuning each element to achieve a perfect equilibrium. It's like he’s building a world, one shape at a time. I see the legacy of early abstraction, but also a unique personal vision that speaks to the emotional and spiritual dimensions of human experience. We, as artists, are all collaging, aren't we?