A spring 1952

Gino Severini made this work, A Spring, with pastel on paper. I love how the pastel is applied so the marks themselves are still visible. You can really see the process he went through to create this image, as if each stroke builds the image right before your eyes. The texture of the paper, and the way the pastel sits on it, gives the whole image a kind of soft, almost dreamlike quality. I'm drawn to the area in the center, where those little blue flowers are clustered. They feel like a burst of energy, a focal point amidst all the geometric shapes and muted greens. It's almost as if Severini is suggesting how spring isn’t just a season but a feeling, a kind of revitalizing energy. The way Severini plays with geometric forms reminds me of the Cubists, like Picasso and Braque. But there’s a lightness here, an openness that feels uniquely Severini. It’s like he’s inviting us to piece together our own understanding of spring, one pastel stroke at a time.