Béla Czóbel Dévényi Ivan 1964 1964

Béla Czóbel made this intriguing portrait of Dévényi Ivan using an expressive monochromatic palette back in 1964. There's something about the way Czóbel builds up this face with these short, deliberate marks that feels so raw. The paint is worked wet into wet, meaning there is a lack of layering, and this gives the portrait a sense of immediacy. I find myself focusing on the eyes, those dark almond shapes, heavy lidded, and gazing in a particular direction. They feel like the epicenter of the whole composition, drawing you in. Czóbel's style reminds me a bit of some of the early expressionists, like Kirchner, but with a softer edge. There’s this ongoing conversation in art, right? Czóbel is in dialogue with earlier art, but he is very much doing his own thing. This portrait is a testament to how much you can say with simple lines and a muted palette, letting the texture and gesture do the talking.