Unknown artist’s abstract oil painting from the 1960s

In this rectangular oil painting on canvas, we are immediately captivated by the expressive and dramatic paint marks, whose sweeping gestures draw our eye in multiple directions. We sense that the artist has revelled in the manipulation of oils in order to create this heavily textured work that explores the tactile, sensuous characteristics of paint. This heavy, thick layering of oil paint is a style that was practised by a number of mid-century painters throughout Europe.

The mass of directional paint work is made up of a predominantly warm colour palette. Earthy colours of yellow ochre and red ochre contrast with dashes of vibrant blue. Areas of unmixed white paint have been scraped and swirled through the masses of colour, creating a sense of intricacy and detail that invites us to look even closer into this world of texture.