Head of a girl in a hat 1919

Tadeusz Makowski painted this head of a girl in a hat with oil paint on canvas. The painting presents a close-up of a young girl's face, dominated by warm, earthy tones of orange and red, set against a muted green background. The composition focuses intensely on the subject's face, cropping tightly to emphasize her features. The brushstrokes are visible and textured, adding a tactile quality to the image. Makowski uses color to define form, with highlights of yellow and deeper shades of red to create depth and dimension. The girl's expression is contemplative, her gaze directed slightly off to the side, evoking a sense of introspection. The painting’s material presence is striking; the rough texture and visible brushwork emphasize the act of painting itself. This focus on the materiality of the paint can be seen as a modernist strategy, turning attention away from pure representation and towards the physical reality of the artwork. This shift challenges traditional notions of art as illusionistic and instead foregrounds its existence as an object.