Study of a peasant in a hat 1920

Tadeusz Makowski painted this 'Study of a Peasant in a Hat' with oils, and it looks like he really worked the surface. Look closely at the crusty paint and how the colors mix and mingle, earth tones, creams and reds, all layered on top of one another. I bet Makowski built up this image slowly, step by step, maybe wiping away and starting again, trying to capture the weight and presence of this person. I can imagine him squinting at the model, brush in hand, trying to get it just right. That big brushstroke of red that makes up the left cheek feels so alive. You can sense the artist’s hand as he tries to translate flesh onto canvas. Maybe he was thinking about artists like Courbet or Daumier, painters who knew how to capture real life on a grand scale. I think all artists are in conversation with one another, even across time, riffing on each other’s ideas and pushing the language of painting forward. It is through these experiments that the artwork opens up space for new ideas and experiences.