Hodgkin, for me, shows what great painting is. Its the ability to make something very sophisticated appear absolutely effotless. The arrogance and spontaneity with which he lays down certain makrs speaks of a man who knows the nature of paint, the construction of space and most intimately colour. Its like he has a relationship with colour with is intelligent, emotive, poetic and utterly undescribaly brilliant. Autumn is, without doubt, a classic example of his strnegths. Colour and form flicker across and up its surface and create pulsing rythms through the picture plane. At points it enters into Bach like musicality. LIke much great painting it performs the trick of marrying, without contradiction, abstraction and figuration.