In this work of remarkable intensity, Chaïm Soutine presents a female portrait where the color red dominates with an almost primordial force. The figure, caught in an expressionist whirlwind, appears to dance or struggle within the pictorial space.
The treatment of paint, characteristic of the artist’s style, brings forth the human form through bold impasto and nervous brushstrokes. The scarlet dress, a veritable chromatic vortex, dramatically contrasts with the dark green background, creating an explosive pictorial tension. The woman’s face, barely sketched yet profoundly expressive, emerges from this storm of colors like a silent cry. The work perfectly illustrates how Soutine transformed his models into truly hallucinatory visions.
Further Context
- “Woman in Red” by Chaïm Soutine, circa 1923-1924
- Paris Museums, Museum of Modern Art of Paris
- https://www.parismuseescollections.paris.fr/fr/musee-d-art-moderne/oeuvres/la-femme-en-rouge
Chaïm Soutine (1893-1943) was one of the leading figures of the School of Paris. Born in a shtetl in Belarus, he settled in Paris in 1913 where he developed a unique style, marked by expressive intensity and a consuming passion for color. His deeply personal art stands at the intersection of pictorial tradition and the avant-garde, transforming visible reality into tormented expressions of his inner world. His painting, characterized by expressive distortions and turbulent painterly matter, would significantly influence American Abstract Expressionism.
