Girl holding a rose in her hand 1920

Tadeusz Makowski painted this girl holding a rose in her hand sometime in the early twentieth century, using visible brushstrokes of oil on canvas. I can imagine Makowski’s focus on the girl’s face, trying to capture her youthfulness, the slight flush in her cheeks. The surface of the painting has this network of fine cracks, like an old memory or maybe a dried-up river bed. Look how he’s worked with the paint to build up layers of color and texture. The blue in the background feels alive and slightly unsettled, pushing forward, which makes the girl stand out against it. It’s interesting to think about how Makowski saw the world, how he chose to represent this young girl with a rose. Artists are always in conversation with each other across time, borrowing and riffing on ideas, creating new ways of seeing. Painting is all about embracing ambiguity. It’s not about giving you all the answers but inviting you to ask your own questions.