Mask and Mandolin 1928

Bela Czobel made this painting, Mask and Mandolin, and it's like he built it up out of feelings. It's all about how the process and the materials come together. What I notice first is the sheer physicality of the paint, thick and opaque, especially around the mask. You can almost feel the texture under your fingers, like he’s wrestling with the very stuff of the world. And look at that mandolin. It’s not just sitting there; it's practically vibrating with color. Then there's that window, a pale rectangle of light, a world of muted blues and greens, providing a backdrop to the scene. Czobel reminds me a little of artists like Chaim Soutine, who also used paint as a way to almost sculpt the world and wrestle with feelings. Ultimately it's a reminder that art doesn't have to have all the answers. Instead, it's a space to be with questions and different ways of seeing.