Farmer with a Pipe 1942

Arnold Peter Weisz-Kubínčan made this portrait of a farmer, using humble materials – paper and pastel. The very directness and simplicity of this medium speaks to the artist’s commitment to the subject, who is likely a direct representation of rural labor. The strokes of color feel rapidly applied, almost as though the artist wished to capture the essence of his subject in one go. The dry, powdery quality of the pastel lends a certain earthiness to the image, evoking the fields and toil of the farmer's daily life. The texture isn't smooth or polished; it's raw, mirroring the ruggedness of manual labor. The very act of drawing, with its emphasis on direct hand-to-surface contact, also underscores the labor invested in creating the artwork itself. Weisz-Kubínčan honors not just the farmer's labor, but by extension, the labor involved in artmaking itself, and invites us to reconsider the value we place on different forms of work and artistry.