The work is titled Apartment Houses, by Jean Dubuffet. It was made in the year 1946 in Paris. The artist used oil with sand and charcoal on canvas. The rawness of the brushstrokes appealed to me. The artwork is like a panorama, showing all of its contents in one flat perspective. I enjoyed the use of color, or rather, the lack of it. Although the piece is describing a scene which can be seen in our everyday lives, the artist’s use of monotone colors, combined with his rough brushstrokes, gives the painting a dark impression. The faces of the people appear to be similar, and some have sinister smiles on their faces. The artist is said to have been interested in the art made by those without formal training, especially by people who are insane, and it is interesting how this has influenced him to portray an everyday-scene to feel like a mental hospital.
