The Red House 1925

Auguste Herbin painted this with oils, creating a world that feels both familiar and utterly strange. The flat planes of color and sharp, geometric forms remind us of the way forms meet and lock together in our minds as we try to assemble sense-perceptions into recognizable forms. Look closely at that red. It's not just red, it's a statement. The color is thick, almost defiant, and the way it sits against the cool blues and greens creates a tension. The way the river bends toward the foreground, almost like a question mark, invites you to participate in the visual puzzle. Herbin, like Picasso, was interested in Cubism and the way it could capture the fragmented nature of modern life, so we can appreciate the way this painter tries to make a new kind of sense of the world through the act of painting. Don't look for answers; look for the questions.