Ždiar 1934

Mikuláš Galanda made this drawing of Ždiar using colored pencils. The directness of the medium gives the piece an honesty which speaks to the process of artmaking as a way of trying to describe something, in this case a landscape. Look at how the texture of the paper is integral to the feel of the artwork. The pale color of the paper shows through the marks, softening the overall effect and helping to create a feeling of light and air in the composition. Notice the way Galanda leaves the paper bare in places, allowing the off-white to function as a color, particularly in the sky. The heavy black lines defining the shapes give the image an almost cartoonish effect. This piece reminds me of Van Gogh’s drawings, where line is used expressively to capture the energy of a scene. Galanda embraces the ambiguity of art, suggesting rather than stating, and inviting us to complete the picture.