Vajda Lajos Pantocrator, 1937 Szén Papír, 61.7x44.8cm 1937

Vajda Lajos made this Pantocrator in 1937 with charcoal on paper. The image feels like a sketch, an under-drawing used to map out a larger composition. I’m drawn to the lines of the grid. It gives the impression that Lajos is trying to contain something. Yet, in other ways the piece feels very free; he’s willing to let things fall outside the grid, he’s willing to let lines double up and not be too precise. The lines themselves are quite lovely, like when you are doodling absentmindedly on a page. There is an openness to the drawing, a tentative, vulnerable, quality. It feels like Lajos is in conversation with himself about this form and the lines almost act as a way to see what’s possible. The marks act as a map, tracing a journey. It makes me think of other artists like Guston, who are similarly interested in opening up the image-making process.