Boy’s head 1925 - 1935

Editor: Here we have Arnold Peter Weisz-Kubínčan's "Boy's Head," created sometime between 1925 and 1935, rendered in colored pencil and pencil. It's an expressive portrait, but something about the sketchiness and color palette creates a sense of unease. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Let us first observe the inherent properties: the delicate hatching that constitutes the face, for instance. Note the juxtaposition of colors, how they interact not necessarily to create a naturalistic skin tone, but rather to build up form and suggest underlying emotional intensity. The artist clearly prioritized expression over precise representation. What formal qualities strike you as particularly significant? Editor: I'm drawn to the unfinished quality. The lines are quite raw and exposed. It makes me feel as though the image might disappear any second, fading back into the rose background. Curator: Exactly. The rawness that you observe undermines any illusionistic qualities of this head and it returns our focus to the materiality of the pastel marks and pencil line. Also, look at how the profile format isolates the boy. There's a kind of tension arising from that choice as the lack of a defined background creates a feeling of instability in pictorial space. Does that instability suggest other tensions in the image to you? Editor: It might indicate emotional uncertainty, as well. It almost feels like the boy is lost within the confines of the pink paper. The expressionistic technique feels very personal. Curator: Indeed, it’s through line, color, and form that Weisz-Kubínčan is exploring notions of the self in a German-Expressionist vocabulary. Editor: That’s interesting; the analysis of formal elements really opened up the expressive power this portrait holds! Curator: Yes, and by prioritizing those elements, we access the underlying emotion with greater understanding and clarity.