Czóbel Béla Nude 1930 1930

Bela Czobel brushed this nude into being with oils around 1930. The blue underpainting shimmers through strokes of warm yellow ochre. I can imagine Czobel’s process, standing before the canvas, brush in hand, a dance between intention and chance unfolding with each stroke. I know that feeling: the uncertainty, the little disasters, the moments of pure insight when the painting seems to guide itself. The way he renders flesh, it’s not about perfection but feeling. The figure’s pose is relaxed, but there's a tension, too. I notice the flower she holds. Is it a symbol? Maybe of beauty, or fragility. Maybe it doesn’t matter so much what it *means*, as what it *adds*. Czobel’s handling of paint reminds me of other painters who were trying to capture something fleeting. He knew, as all painters do, that a painting is never really finished, only abandoned.