Chevalier aux Roses 1914

Lajos Gulacsy made this dreamlike painting, Chevalier aux Roses, with oil paint. The whole thing is bathed in a warm, reddish-orange light, like you're looking at it through rose-tinted glasses – literally! The paint seems applied in thin, hazy layers. There’s a real sense of the artist building up the image, almost like a memory surfacing. Look at the way the figures emerge from the ground – they're not sharply defined, but kind of float in and out of focus. Take that figure on the left; it's like a face in the clouds. Gulacsy is less interested in accurate representation, and more in the process of bringing the image into being. This reminds me of Odilon Redon, another artist who explored dreamscapes and inner visions. Both artists embraced the idea that art doesn't have to be literal; it can be a space for imagination and ambiguity. There’s no right or wrong way to feel about this piece, and that’s what makes it so interesting.