Margitka 1938

Bertalan Pór made this portrait, Margitka, with oil on canvas, and it feels like he was really figuring out painting as he went. You can see how each brushstroke is laid down deliberately, like a building block, constructing the image from patches of color. The surface has a tactile quality, the paint applied with varying degrees of thickness. In the face, warm reds and pinks are juxtaposed with cooler blues and grays to create depth and volume. I’m drawn to the way Pór captures the folds of the white garment, using bold, dark lines to define the shapes and create a sense of movement. It’s kind of awkward, but it has a raw energy. It reminds me a little of Paula Modersohn-Becker’s early portraits, which also have this kind of directness and honesty. And like those works, Margitka is a reminder that painting is not just about representation but about the act of seeing and feeling.