Green Clown Mask 1938

This is Vajda Lajos’s Green Clown Mask. Imagine him making this, maybe in the late 30’s. The surface seems built up with layers of chalk or pastel in hushed tones of violet, ochre, and acid green. I like how Lajos has drawn and redrawn the contours of the face, searching for a form, wiping it back, and starting again. You can feel the physical effort of his hand making these marks. The eyes are closed and a small smile plays on the lips, like a kid’s drawing. I want to know what he was thinking, what he was feeling. Was it an act of self-portraiture? For me, the clown refers to the tragicomic theater of human existence and the absurdity of identity. It reminds me of other outsider artists, like James Ensor, who found a similar freedom through masquerade. There’s a vulnerability to it, as though he’s sharing something deeply personal, searching for the universal. We’re all in the same boat, trying to figure stuff out as we go along.