Study of a head 1914

Josef Capek made this 'Study of a Head' with watercolor, graphite and ink, but I don't know when exactly. What strikes me is the way he's building an image of a head from simple geometrical forms. It's an exercise, like a painterly equation. Capek uses a limited palette, really sticking to blacks, whites, grays, and a touch of purple. The paint is thin and transparent, giving a ghostly feel, and you can see the marks of the graphite underneath. Notice that single eye, just a tiny dash of ink, it's so small, but it pulls the whole image into focus. Looking at this, I am reminded of Picasso. Like Picasso, Capek is asking: how little can you do to make something? It’s all about seeing the world in new ways, and knowing that a painting is never really finished, it's just a process.