Portrét farára Zemana 1941

Jozef Hanula painted this portrait of Farar Zeman, we think in 1941, likely in oils. Look at how the black of the cassock sits against a muted background, all gentle shifts in tone and light. Imagine Hanula at the easel, working and reworking this area, trying to capture the essence of the man. The gaze is calm and direct, isn’t it? Look at the texture of the skin around the eyes, a record of time. There’s something about the way the hands are painted, soft and expressive. I wonder if Hanula was thinking about the history of portraiture as he worked – all those Dutch Masters with their incredible attention to detail. Maybe he was picturing the paintings of his contemporaries in Slovakia, trying to find a way of making a painting that spoke to his moment. Whatever he was thinking, it's clear that he was deeply engaged with the process of painting. Artists build on each other’s work, remixing and reinterpreting, constantly in dialogue across time.