Houses in Szentendre with Blue Sky 1935

Editor: Vajda Lajos created “Houses in Szentendre with Blue Sky” back in 1935, using mixed media. The piece, at first glance, feels still, and a little melancholic – like a town holding its breath. What strikes you about it? Curator: That stillness... yes, that’s it. The houses are solid, almost geometric, yet there's a dreamlike quality to the light, as if time is standing still in this small Hungarian town. Notice how the colours – earthy yellows and browns contrasting with that wistful blue sky – create a gentle, almost haunting harmony? And look at the lines he uses, so precise, delineating each plane, as though charting the very soul of each building. Tell me, what stories do you imagine these houses hold? Editor: I imagine secrets mostly – untold stories behind closed doors and shadowed windows. It feels very private and a little closed-off somehow. Curator: Absolutely. It’s as if Vajda, rather than simply painting houses, is capturing the very essence of the place – a sort of collective memory etched onto the canvas. His perspective reminds me, oddly enough, of those old postcards, stiff and slightly surreal, but somehow revealing something deeply authentic. The geometry against the organic gives it a powerful feeling. Editor: That makes a lot of sense. I'm getting something new out of the rigid shapes after thinking about geometry versus nature and history. Curator: Me too, always! Art is always an interaction...a continual reveal of how you’re experiencing and perceiving. Always new and fresh, you see. It is so fascinating to witness this artwork. Editor: Agreed! It's a testament to how much one painting can reveal about a time and a place, isn’t it? It offers more to us with each viewing.