Czóbel Béla Brügge 1905 1905

Béla Czóbel made this oil on canvas painting, Brügge, in 1905. The dabs of thick paint make me think about the process of seeing and recording. Like, how do you capture a whole city with just a few blobs of color? I love how Czóbel uses these chunky strokes, almost like he’s building the city out of pure color. The way the light hits the buildings, you can feel the sun on the stone. See that red pole at the bottom right? It’s almost cartoonish, a little anchor in all this painterly abstraction. It reminds me a little of early Vlaminck, who was also playing with Fauvist colors around the same time. These guys weren't afraid to push the boundaries, to make paintings that felt more like an experience than a picture. It’s like they’re saying, “Here’s what I saw, but more importantly, here’s how it felt.” And that’s what keeps me coming back.