Head 1918

Auguste Herbin’s ‘Head’ is a playful arrangement of geometric shapes and colors, probably oil on canvas, though who knows. I imagine Herbin in his studio, shuffling forms around, trying to nail something down. The pink slab of a face, that dark wave of hair, and the bright, bold background – all are puzzling and intriguing. You can see him thinking through color and shape. What does it mean for a face to be pink? What is it that makes a face a face anyway? Herbin, like other painters, builds up this surface, and in doing so makes us wonder about surface in general, not to mention what goes on underneath. That pink could be anything, everything. The black dots and other textures disrupt the flatness and make the painting visually tactile. You get the feeling that painting is an embodied form of expression, and it is not just about looking, but feeling. It’s a beautiful conversation, this painting, echoing through the history of art.