Madonna 1937

Bela Czobel made this Madonna with oil paints and probably some turpentine to thin them down, judging by how the pigment kinda melts into the canvas. The colors are muted, earthy, even though the subject is anything but, traditionally speaking. Look at the way he’s built up the paint around her eyes, like dark pools, giving her this really intense, almost haunting gaze. It's like she knows something we don't. I'm drawn to the little flecks of red near her neck. They’re like whispers of warmth against the otherwise cool palette, and the whole thing makes me think of Paula Modersohn-Becker, another artist who wasn’t afraid to depict women with a raw kind of honesty. Ultimately, this piece feels like an invitation to embrace the unknown, to find beauty in the unexpected.