Study of a nude 1912

Tadeusz Makowski painted this nude study with oil on canvas, though we don't know exactly when. Look at the way he constructs the form with planes of colour, and how the shadows become almost sculptural. The palette is very earthy, lots of greys and browns, but then there are these surprising pinks in the lips and cheek. The paint application is quite direct, you can see the brushstrokes building up the surface, especially around the face and shoulders. I like the way the background almost dissolves into the figure, creating this sense of ambiguity. It's like the figure is emerging from the shadows, or maybe sinking back into them. It reminds me of some of Cézanne's bathers, in the way the figures are integrated into the landscape. Makowski seems to be exploring the possibilities of form and representation, and how painting can be a process of discovery. It's like he's saying that art isn't about capturing a fixed reality, but about creating a new one, through the act of painting itself.