The Artist and His Model 1986

Corneille made this painting of ‘The Artist and His Model’ in 1986, and you can see he really goes for it with a kind of raw, graphic energy. It's like he’s carving out the image with colour. There’s something so unapologetic about the way he lays down the pigment. Look at the thick, almost chalky texture. It's like he's wrestling with the material, pushing it around to see what it can do. The way he renders the woman's features – those big, blue eyes and the blush on her cheeks – feels both bold and kind of vulnerable. And there’s something almost childlike about the way he uses colour, ignoring the rules and just going for what feels right. It reminds me a little of Picasso's approach to portraiture. But where Picasso is often more analytical, Corneille feels more instinctive, more immediate. And you’re left thinking about the ongoing conversation between artists across time.