Hlava 1913

Josef Capek made "Hlava" with oil paint, building up the image through blocks of colour. The process feels very visible, like one decision led to the next. I love how Capek uses a restricted palette of red, blue, and gray. There’s something so satisfying about seeing how much you can do with just a few colours. Notice how he uses the gray to create depth and shadow, allowing the red and blue to really pop. The brushwork is confident and straightforward, each stroke deliberate. There's a sense of play in how Capek constructs the face from geometric shapes, breaking down the traditional portrait into something more abstract. Look at the nose—it’s a sharp red triangle, but it totally works. This reminds me a little of some early Picasso portraits, but with a Czech twist. It's a reminder that art is a conversation, artists responding to and building upon the ideas of those who came before. And like any good conversation, it’s full of surprises and unexpected turns.