The courtyard of the Renaissance manor house in Strážky 1912

Ľudovít Čordák painted this courtyard with what looks like very soft oil paint, using delicate strokes and a pale palette. I wonder if he stood in this very spot, looking for just the right angle to place us as viewers inside the stone archway. I can almost feel the stillness of the courtyard, the weight of the buildings softened by the smudgy clouds. Those pale greens and yellows are gorgeous, especially how he lets the light hit the grassy areas in the foreground. But what I keep coming back to is the well in the center, how he frames it with those rounded archways in the background. Maybe Čordák liked the contrast between the geometric shapes of the architecture with the curves of the well. Čordák was part of a whole group of painters interested in capturing everyday life, and I can see how this painting fits into that idea. He really makes me think about other painters of light and atmosphere, like Corot. It's like they're all in conversation, figuring out how to show us the world in new ways. And for me, that’s the magic of painting.