nude of a woman 1916

Kmetty János made this "nude of a woman," and it’s all angles, and light. I imagine János, brush in hand, studying his subject. Trying to understand the relationship between her solidity and the shadows that define her. The painting feels blocky, like he’s building her up, piece by piece. It's not about soft curves, but more about the planes of her body. He’s simplifying the figure into these geometric shapes. It makes me think of Cézanne, and the way he reduced nature to cylinders and spheres. János is doing something similar here. And that palette. All those muted greens and browns, with just a touch of cool blue in the cloth. The paint handling feels direct and honest, with visible brushstrokes that give the surface texture. It all adds up to a very particular mood. A mood that tells me that artists are always learning from each other, reinterpreting ideas and techniques in their own way.