Portrait of Sylvester Golubovsky 1933

Oleksa Novakivskyi painted this portrait of Sylvester Golubovsky sometime in the early 20th century, probably in oil on canvas. I get the sense that Novakivskyi starts with simple blocky forms and then worries the paint until it's just right, everything is really descriptive without being overly fussy. I love how the landscape in the background is painted so casually, the land seems to just flow into the river, and there’s this overall feeling that nothing is overly laboured. If you look closely at the subject’s hands, they're a real focal point of the painting, there’s a clear attention to detail here, which really resonates with me, especially the way that light catches on the paper he’s holding. I am reminded a little of Cezanne, particularly his later portraits. Both artists seemed to be more interested in the structure of the painting itself than necessarily capturing a perfect likeness, and there’s a real freedom in this approach. It’s less about technical perfection, more about the honest expression of what it feels like to see.