Musician 1962

Rudolf Láng made this painting, Musician, with oil on canvas, and while the date isn't known, the brushwork gives me a feeling of process. There's a casual, searching quality to the way the forms are blocked in, like the act of painting itself is a way of figuring things out. Look at the warm hues of the cello body and the cool blues in the background. Láng isn’t afraid of contrasts, letting colors bump up against each other, creating a kind of visual buzz. The surface has a beautiful texture, not too smooth, not too rough. I can almost feel the drag of the brush as it moves across the canvas. Notice the way the light catches on the edges of the instrument, creating a sense of depth and volume. This piece makes me think of someone like Oskar Kokoschka. Both artists share a similar sense of expressionistic urgency, but also a kind of playful looseness. Ultimately, Láng reminds us that art is a conversation, a dialogue between the artist and the world, and between artists across time.