Flamenco Singers 1916

Sonia Delaunay made ‘Flamenco Singers’ with oil paint, and it feels like she was trying to capture not just what she saw, but the sound and movement of flamenco. Look at how she layers those rainbow arcs and circles on the canvas! The texture here is so key. It is built up from tiny little marks. This almost pointillist application of paint creates a shimmering surface. Delaunay uses the physicality of the medium to express a kind of visual music. In the center, notice the small circles of red, blue, and yellow: these tiny dots seem to vibrate, echoing the energy of the singers. ‘Flamenco Singers’ sits nicely next to a later painting, 'Rhythmic Composition', in how it blends the seen and the unseen, and how these shapes and colors are not just representations, but forces, in themselves.