Still Life on Table 1910

Kmetty János created this "Still Life on Table" with oil paint, and you can feel him feeling his way through each object with brush and color. He’s there, wrestling with the folds of the white tablecloth, coaxing light to bounce off that heavy-looking pitcher. You can almost hear him muttering, trying to get that apple just right, glowing against its plate. It’s like he’s having a conversation with these objects, a back-and-forth about shape and color. The brown bottle, the golden bowl of fruit - each has a purpose to play in this silent drama. I imagine he saw Cézanne do this, the way the table tips up and the objects claim their presence and he thought, Yeah, I can do that too! And then he tries, and it doesn't work, and he tries again. He finds his own voice, a little unsure, a little quirky, but very much his own. It shows how we painters keep egging each other on across time.