Kuzimanza

A mottled black-and-white animal, built like a large hunting dog or hyena, stretches low across the canvas in profile, head turned toward the viewer at left with a dark watchful eye and a raised ear. Its haunches rise toward the right edge, the body broken into overlapping patches of white, black and touches of crimson.

The scene is built almost entirely with a palette knife: thick ridges of pink and lilac stand in for a hazy sky, while the animal's coat is gouged out in slabs of black, white, ochre and acid green. Colour is applied for tension rather than description, giving the reclining creature a restless, unsettled energy despite its low pose.