The Tribute Money 2011

Alexander Roitburd made this painting titled 'The Tribute Money' using brushes and oil paint. The ochre figure appears to be weighed down with a basket of bread, while surrounded by what looks like pulsating arteries of red. I can imagine Roitburd layering the thin paint, almost like watercolor washes, letting them drip and run to create that feeling of depth and shadowy atmosphere. What was he thinking when he painted those bright red lines, and the glowing orb in the darkness above the figure's head? There is such intimacy here, like a contemporary take on a Caravaggio painting. Roitburd was in conversation with artists of the past, reinventing and restaging, using the language of painting to engage with politics, history, and the world around him.