Portrait of brigadier Józef Piłsudski 1916

Jacek Malczewski made this portrait of Brigadier Józef Piłsudski with oil on canvas, and just imagine what it might have been like to be him, working on this painting. The brushstrokes are loose and dreamy, sort of evaporating into thin air. There’s something slightly melancholic about this piece. The palette is muted, like faded memories. But you can see how Malczewski applied layers of thin paint, building up the image gradually. I am struck by the way the winged figure in the background adds to the sense of the unsaid. I wonder what Malczewski was thinking about. There’s such a sense of quiet introspection. The artist probably thought about Goya, I bet. Maybe he thought about the tradition of portraiture too, but also the way painting can hint at something beyond the surface. Painting isn't just about what's there, but what could be, or once was.