Untitled 1941

Gunther Gerzso made this untitled painting with oil paint and what seems like a fair amount of turpentine, you know, to thin the paint down. There is an interesting push-pull thing happening, where the artist has left the paint thin in some areas, and in others, like on the figure's dress, the paint is thick. You can see the texture of the brush. I guess the figure is the focal point, and there is something spectral and ghostly about her. I like how he has rendered her face blank. She holds an object, maybe a scepter? And you can see how the blue of the carpet cuts against the brown and orange of the walls. Gerzso's painting feels kind of connected to the tradition of surrealism, like maybe Yves Tanguy's work. But it also kind of reminds me of early Giorgio de Chirico; you know, the spooky theatrical landscapes. Anyway, I am not sure about its definitive meaning, but the painting sure has a mysterious charm.