Girl with Red Shawl 1934

Bela Czobel made this painting of a girl with a red shawl using oil paint with visible brushstrokes and a warm color palette. I can imagine Czobel standing at his easel, the brush dancing across the canvas to capture a likeness. He has rendered the girl's form in broad strokes of orange and blue. I wonder what Czobel was thinking about while he painted? Maybe he was thinking about the Fauves, his contemporaries, who were also interested in using bold, expressive colors. The surface is built up with layers of paint, giving it a tactile quality. Look at the way the paint is applied to create the girl’s face. Notice how the eyes and mouth are simplified shapes. The red of the shawl is echoed in her skin tones. It's like Bela Czobel is having a conversation with painters across time, and so are we when we look at his painting. It embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations and meaning.