Lady with Opera Glasses 1941

Cyprián Majerník made this painting of a Lady with Opera Glasses with oil. Look at these brushstrokes. I can tell Majerník was having fun here, building this image with confident strokes of buttery paint. I wonder what it was like for him to move his hands to create this image. The texture feels almost edible, especially in the swirls of her hair. The palette is really earthy and warm, but the whites he uses around her opera glasses and her dress, give it a little zing. He's not trying to hide his process. This is all about laying it on, seeing what happens. I love the smudge of green amidst the flower on her dress, it really makes the whole area sing! Majerník reminds me a little of Paula Modersohn-Becker who was also interested in simple intimate portraits with dynamic brushstrokes. Art, like life, is about the conversation between what we see and what we feel.