Modern Leda 1929

Oleksa Novakivskyi painted "Modern Leda," at some point in his career using oil paint, and a lot of it. Look at how he's built up the surface. He’s not blending or fussing, more like slapping and stroking the paint on the canvas. This kind of directness is really appealing to me. I’m drawn to the way he renders the swan's wing, how it’s so flat and graphic, like a sign for “wingness,” rather than a realistic depiction. Then look at Leda's skin. It's not fleshy, but layered with color. See the pinks, yellows, and blues that Novakivskyi uses to make up her form. It’s almost abstract, but still totally readable as a body. Novakivskyi reminds me a bit of Paula Modersohn-Becker, especially the way he simplifies forms and uses color to create depth. But where Modersohn-Becker is often more grounded, Novakivskyi has this airy, dreamlike quality. It’s like he’s inviting us into a myth, but also reminding us that it’s just paint.