The Carpathian Woman 1957

Victor Brauner made this crayon drawing, The Carpathian Woman, sometime in 1957. The face of the woman is built out of rectangles. They are different colours, like a patchwork. It feels playful, and kinda awkward. The texture is really visible. You can see the strokes of the crayon, how Brauner layered the colours to create depth, almost like he was sculpting with pigment. See how the pink crayon marks seem to bleed into the yellow behind her head? It's like he's not trying to hide the process, but embrace it. And those eyes, floating in the middle of her face! I find this both unsettling and curious. Brauner’s approach reminds me of Francis Picabia who similarly dismantled the conventional portrait, favoring a playful, experimental attitude, suggesting that art is more about asking questions than giving answers. Like any work worth looking at, this piece invites us to see the world in a new light. It’s not about what the woman looks like, but about how we see her.