Ruins of the Ancient Theatre of Taormina 1905

Tivadar Kosztka Csontvary laid down this vision of the Ruins of the Ancient Theatre of Taormina with brushes full of color and feeling. I can almost feel the weight of the air as I look at this painting, the heavy brushstrokes mixing ruin and nature, past and present. Imagine being Csontvary, standing before this scene. The mountain looms in the background, a silent witness. The ruins themselves are these chunky blocks of earthy reds and browns, fighting against the pull of the earth, reaching upwards. The columns and walls, reduced to mere traces of their former selves, hint at the passage of time, the fading of civilisations. Maybe he was thinking about the precariousness of life, the slow but sure march of time. The scene is built with strokes of paint that are almost like thoughts, questions about structure, the passage of time, and the play of light. Csontvary’s mark-making is so distinctive, yet it also puts me in mind of other artists who wrestle with similar ideas. Painters are constantly in dialogue with one another across time, riffing off each other’s ideas and approaches. Painting is like a conversation, an ongoing exploration of what it means to be human.