In order to create this work, Delaunay pulled a Trump and looked directly at the sun to see those cool colors that one can only experience by damaging their retina.

This is one of those times when a cool guy can do something stupid and no one will make fun of him for it because he’s a cool guys and, well, not Trump. Also an entire painting series came out of this mildly irresponsible behavior, and all we got out of Trump staring at the 2017 solar eclipse was a few good memes. 

Saint Severin, a Parisian Gothic church, served as the subject for Delaunay’s first series of paintings about the effects of light shining through stained-glass windows. And after almost four years of this focus he discovered that light shining through glass is pretty bitchin’. You may be thinking, “Duh, of course stained-glass windows and the resulting lighting are bitchin’” but if Delauney had not asked that question, then we wouldn’t have these incredible works of art, so stop being so cynical...geez.

It’s tough to tell whether the distortion of this church is due to the lighting or the fact that Delaunay was well on his way to Cubism/Abstraction.  Either way the painting gives off the Jesus-died-for-your-sins-what-have-you-done guilt trip vibe that is so essential to Roman Catholic establishments.