Portrait of Hollós Ilona 1930

This is Kmetty János's portrait of Hollós Ilona, painted in watercolor. Look at the way the pigment bleeds and blends! I can imagine János moving the brush across the paper, the water spreading, carrying the colors into each other, creating soft edges and subtle gradations. The way János captures Hollós Ilona's likeness feels intimate, doesn't it? He's really looking, trying to understand the structure of her face, but also leaving space for intuition. Those blues in her hair, for instance, aren't just descriptive; they're expressive, adding depth and mystery. You know, it makes me think about Cezanne and how he used watercolor to explore form and color in his landscapes and portraits, and how those artists are connected through time. Painting is like a conversation with yourself and the world, full of questions, hesitations, and surprising discoveries. Each mark, each brushstroke, tells a story of seeing, feeling, and thinking.