Victorious Return 1944 - 1945

Cyprián Majerník made "Victorious Return" with what looks like gouache, or maybe thinned oil paint, and the way he’s handled it, you can tell he was really *thinking* through paint. It’s pretty cool how Majerník built up the forms with these semi-transparent layers, especially around the horses’ legs, you can see he isn’t trying to hide the process. I think the best bit is the sea which is so gestural, really free, and almost childlike. The artist is thinking about art history here, maybe a bit of Daumier, but maybe also a bit of Beckmann. Whatever it is, Majerník’s work holds something powerful in its ambiguity.