Clown Playing the Violin 1940

Cyprián Majerník conjured this clown playing the violin with strokes of oil paint. It looks like he might have been working fast, almost slapping the paint onto the canvas. I can see the artist’s hand in the way that the brown and cream-colored paint swirl into each other, a bit like notes in a sad song. The clown's got this big nose and tiny hat, and he's just going for it, sawing away at that violin. I wonder if Majerník ever felt like this clown, trying to make something beautiful amidst all the chaos of life? The guitar in the background, it's like a shadow, a memory of something. Perhaps this canvas is like a stage for Majerník, an arena for him to play out feelings about life and art. It makes me think about other artists, like Picasso, and how they used clowns and performers to explore themes of identity and performance. Artists are always borrowing and building from one another, aren't they?