Woman in a scarf 1936 - 1937

Mikuláš Galanda made this gouache called "Woman in a Scarf", but the exact date is unknown. The shapes are so simplified, yet somehow, she’s right there, in her scarf. I imagine Galanda starting with a few bold lines, maybe charcoal at first, then adding those blocks of color, coral and green, like she’s holding precious stones. What was he thinking as he painted? Perhaps it was the way the light caught the fabric, or maybe he was just drawn to the simple elegance of the pose. The way the colors interact creates a sense of depth and volume, even though the forms are so pared down. It reminds me a bit of some of Matisse's paper cut-outs, that same feeling of capturing a figure with the fewest possible gestures. You know, artists are always riffing off each other, in a big conversation across time. And what emerges is something new, alive with ambiguity, open to endless ways of seeing and feeling.