Civilização, No. 2 1928

Bernardo Marques made Civilização, No. 2, a magazine cover, with inks or paints, layering blocks of muted color. The whole process is laid bare; the figure and window frame are built from simple, clear shapes, like a collage made of planes. I love the way the woman’s form seems constructed rather than described, and how this flatness makes her feel like she’s both there and not there. She seems to be dissolving into the world behind her; the window bars in the foreground mirror the vertical stripes in her dress. I think of the futurists and their obsession with modernity and speed. Take a look at the dove in her hand. It seems too white against the other more subdued tones, and too delicate, like a porcelain figurine about to shatter. It reminds us of something fragile, something we might lose. Like a dream, or a memory. These conflicting elements make the picture really sing. Like all good art, it invites you to bring your own story to it.