Self-portrait in a turban 1929

Zygmunt Waliszewski made this self-portrait with oil paints. I can just imagine Zygmunt standing in front of his canvas, palette in hand, the smell of oil paint filling the air. He’s captured himself wearing a vibrant red turban, its folds rendered with such energy and immediacy. Look at how the brushstrokes dance across the surface, creating a tapestry of texture and light. He’s used thick, juicy strokes, especially in the turban and the background. You can almost feel the weight of the paint, the physicality of the medium. The colors feel bold and playful. The whole thing feels very intuitive, very alive. I wonder if he was thinking of Matisse or Derain when he made this. Perhaps he had their Fauvist experiments in mind. These guys are all in conversation, you know? They are constantly riffing off one another, borrowing ideas, pushing boundaries. Painting is just one big, messy conversation across time.