Czóbel Béla Sárga Blúzos Lány 1945 1945

Bela Czobel made this painting of a girl in a yellow blouse in 1945, and it’s like he’s pulled her right out of a dream. I can almost feel the artist building up the image, stroke by stroke, on the canvas. I imagine him, stepping back, squinting, and then leaning in again with another dab of paint. Thick and thin strokes suggesting the planes of her face, the folds of her clothing. The yellow pops, doesn't it? It's a simple palette, browns and yellows, but they vibrate against each other creating a mood that's both intimate and a little melancholic. There's a real push and pull in the brushstrokes. It reminds me of other expressionists, like Kirchner, who weren’t afraid to let their feelings seep into the paint. It’s like Czobel is having a conversation with them, across time and space, about how to capture a feeling, a fleeting moment, on canvas. Painting is, after all, an ongoing exchange, a way of seeing and feeling that evolves with each brushstroke, each artist adding their voice to the mix.