1933

Red Tensions

French, 1904 - 1987

Red Tensions is a painting about opposing forces in balance. Indeed, it centers on a configuration that evokes devices for weighing known as balance scales—though this configuration exists in an abstract picture space where the familiar rules of weight and direction do not apply. The balancing act derives from contrasts in the geometric forms of rings, rectangles, and other more varied shapes with both straight lines and curves, as well as in their tones of red, brown, copper, and warm gray. The elements are painted smooth and flat, apart from the largest one, where a change from burnt umber to darker brown introduces a hint of volumetric modeling through color. Jean Hélion worked through many variations on this type of structure in suspension and tension from 1932 to 1935.