Painting for the Schiffer Villa 1911

Jozsef Rippl-Ronai made this painting for the Schiffer Villa, and it’s all about how he applied the paint, dot by dot. Look at the surface: it's built up from these little daubs of color, like he's weaving with pigment. The materiality here is everything: the colors are bright and cheerful, but it's the way they're applied that really grabs you. Each dot is a decision, a moment of engagement with the canvas. I love the big red tablecloth. See how the red is made up of all these different shades, it shimmers, like it's alive! It’s this energy that keeps me looking. It feels like a process of discovery. I'm reminded of Seurat and the pointillists, but Rippl-Ronai's got his own thing going on. There’s a freedom and looseness that moves beyond theory, embracing the mess and uncertainty of life itself. Rippl-Ronai invites us to see the world, not as a fixed image, but as a fluid, ever-changing experience.