Portrait of a man 1919

George Bouzianis made this painting, *Portrait of a Man*, with oil on canvas, and right away you're struck by how present the artist's hand feels. The brushstrokes are so visible, like little dashes of thought made tangible. Look at the way he renders the hands, those quick, almost clumsy strokes that somehow capture the essence of form without getting bogged down in detail. The blacks of the suit and moustache are offset by these highlights, which bring texture to the fore and give the whole work a liveliness. It’s interesting how the artist doesn't shy away from the materiality of paint itself. There's a kinship here with someone like Manet, maybe; that same commitment to the act of painting as a process of discovery rather than just a means to an end. These painters remind us that art is a conversation, an ongoing exploration, and a beautiful, messy, ambiguous thing.