| La Nuit Espagnole (The Spanish Night) | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Artist | Francis Picabia |
| Year | 1922 |
| Medium | enamel on canvas |
| Dimensions | 162.5 cm × 131 cm (64.0 in × 52 in) |
| Location | Museum Ludwig, Cologne |
La Nuit Espagnole (The Spanish Night) is an enamel on canvas painting by French artist Francis Picabia, created in 1922. It is held at the Museum Ludwig, in Cologne.
Description and analysis
The painting is divided in two halves, each one depicts two black and white silhouettes, one male and the other female. The black silhouette of the man is on the left side, while the white silhouette of the woman is at the right side. On the left top of the canvas it reads the title "La Nuit Espagnole", in French. At the bottom left it reads "Sangre Andaluza" (Andalucian blood), in Spanish. The signature of the artist appears at the bottom right. The meaning of the work is complicated by the presence of two colored targets on the female figure, one at her chest and the other at her belly, but also by the strange position of the man, who raises his arms and hands open to her. It can be seen as representing a knife thrower, a banderilla planter or a fandango dancer.
References
- La Nuit Espagnole (The Spanish Night), Museum Ludwig (German)
- Picabia: Our Heads Are Round so Our Thoughts Can Change Direction exhibition, Museum of Modern Art, New York
| Francis Picabia | |
|---|---|
| List of works | |
| Paintings |
|
| Ballets |
|
| Related | |
 | This article about a twentieth-century painting is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |