Landscape, Paris 1912 - 1914

Henry Lyman Saÿen painted 'Landscape, Paris' with oils, building a composition from confident blocks of colour. I can feel the artist pushing the paint around, deciding what’s what, maybe squinting to simplify what he saw. I get a sense of the buildings emerging under his hand, those little chimney stacks like afterthoughts! The red and yellow forms in the foreground could be almost anything, yet their presence feels essential to the balance of the whole. I imagine him stepping back, considering, then moving forward again with another loaded brush. You know, painting is like a conversation across time. Sayen takes cues from Cézanne perhaps, and then throws in some Fauvist color for good measure. It’s this kind of exchange that keeps the language of painting alive, always open to reinterpretation. Painting isn't about answers, but more about the questions!