Night

Night reveals how Neel’s ostensibly narrative scenes—here, a lit window beckoning in the darkness—are replete with structural choices that emphasize formal qualities. The solidity of the architecture of the building dissolves into loose, shadowy gray and black brushwork. The window consists of two panes, an elongated rectangular orientation that echoes that of the canvas itself. This is a composition for the sake of composition, a conversation written in paint about painting. With its luminous yellow shapes positioned just to the right of center, Night revels in the contrast between the defined lines of the window and the murky space within; lace curtains (maybe) and a human head (maybe) are suggested with expertly placed white squiggles and an evocative half circle, but they never resolve into pictorial clarity.