Sitting Peasant 1904

Bela Czobel made "Sitting Peasant" with what looks like oil on canvas, and right away, you can see how the colours just vibrate together. It's like he’s wrestling with the paint, trying to capture the light and the mood of the scene. Look closely at the way he's built up the surface. The paint is thick in places, especially around the peasant’s face and hands. It’s like he's sculpting the form with the brush. But then, elsewhere, it's thin and transparent, allowing the canvas to peek through. See that pinkish-red shirt? It's not just a flat colour. It’s made up of all these different hues, laid down with short, choppy strokes. That gesture, that kind of broken, uneven touch, is really what gives the painting its energy. It reminds me a little of Van Gogh, who Czobel knew in Paris, but with his own personal twist. Both were keen on capturing the inner life of their subjects through expressive mark-making. In the end, it's not just a portrait of a peasant, but a portrait of a way of seeing.