Czóbel Béla Roland Holtd 1917 1917

Bela Czobel made this painting, "Czóbel Béla Roland Holtd," in 1917, using oil on canvas. The strokes are like jazz chords, clashing but resolving, forming a striking portrait. I can imagine him, Bela, stepping back, squinting, then leaning in, adding another dab of cadmium yellow to catch the light on the sitter's face, or dragging a dark umber line to define the jaw. What was Roland Holtd thinking as he sat for this portrait? Was he bored, contemplative, or perhaps amused by the artist's intense focus? Czobel’s use of color, particularly the juxtaposition of those piercing blue eyes against the warm browns and yellows, creates this immediate tension. I notice how he models the form with very free brushstrokes; there is this economy of means and attention to essential shape and form that I admire. Painters are always in conversation, aren’t they? Each brushstroke an echo of those that came before, a response to the ever-unfolding possibilities of paint.