Melon Head 1936

Vajda Lajos’s 'Melon Head' is a painting that was likely built up through layers of sombre color. The orange background is a jumping-off point, a way of getting at the darker shades of grey, black, and olive that give the painting its character. The surface is a record of the artist’s process. Look at how the pigment has been applied, thin in some areas and built up in others, the brushstrokes visible in the background. The face is a kind of mask of flattened forms which sits in front of an implied body; the heavy outline and simplified shapes recall Picasso, and the image is reminiscent of folk art. See how the mouth is just a little dab of paint! So simple, but so full of expression. Ultimately, the painting is more than the sum of its parts. It remains ambiguous, an object of speculation, and a testament to painting’s endless capacity to surprise.