Bortnyik Sándor, Teát Öntő Nő 1940 

Sandor Bortnyik’s ‘Woman Pouring Tea’ was painted in 1940, using visible brushstrokes to build up a scene of domestic intimacy. The materiality here is straightforward: paint on canvas, in a style indebted to French post-impressionism. Yet the scene hints at wider social forces. It seems the woman’s labor in this scene has been interrupted; she has to pause to pour. Look at the surface of the table, with the marks indicating its surface. The way it’s painted, it could be a scrubbed, humble surface; a site of daily labor. Or perhaps it is a more refined surface? Bortnyik's painting here also speaks to the rise of industrialization and the mass production of household goods like tea sets, which by the 20th century had become accessible to a wider segment of the population. So while appearing as a quiet moment of contemplation, the work reminds us that everyday acts are often embedded within a larger network of labor, materials, and social practices.