Fractur c. 1937

Albert Levone’s Fractur is a folk artwork made with watercolors on paper, its age unknown. I can imagine the artist carefully layering the colors, building up each motif with a delicate touch. Look at the pairs of birds perched amidst stylized flowers and hearts. There's a real symmetry and repetition here that gives it a sense of balance, but it’s not too perfect. You know? Each element feels slightly different, like they’ve been made one at a time with slight imperfections. There is a naive quality to the shapes and the limited palette of reds, yellows, and blues, which reminds me of Henri Rousseau's dreamscapes. Maybe Levone was also dreaming when he created this piece. His picture might be read as a devotional piece about love. Whether influenced by folk traditions or simply his own imagination, Levone's Fractur speaks to the human desire for connection and expression. Artists are always in conversation with each other, building on what came before and creating something new.