The Fear (Homage to Francisco Goya) 1987

Corneliu Baba made this painting, The Fear, an homage to Goya, with oil paint, in what looks like one hell of a mood. The earth-toned color palette is so heavy, like a weight pressing down on these figures. Look at how Baba applied the paint, thick and almost muddy in places, but also thin and transparent in others, especially in the background. It's like the fear itself is both suffocating and elusive. I keep coming back to the figure in the center, in the red shirt. The way he's clutching himself, the lines around his mouth pulled down, it's like he's trying to disappear, to become smaller in the face of whatever dread he’s feeling. You can see this dark emotional tonality repeated throughout much of Baba’s work, in paintings like "The Jester". It reminds me that art isn't always about answers, but about embracing those messy, unresolved feelings.