View of Szentendre 1912 45 60 Cm 1912

Kmetty János made this oil painting, View of Szentendre, in 1912, and it’s so interesting to see how he breaks down a landscape into these simplified shapes. It’s all about the architecture, but not in a rigid way. The texture is really something here; the paint isn't too thick, but you can definitely see the brushstrokes. There’s a real emphasis on the material qualities of the paint, a kind of earthy palette with greens and browns. There’s this one roof, with a bright green patch, smack dab in the middle of the scene - it really pops, drawing your eye into the composition. You know, looking at this, I’m reminded of some early Cézanne, especially in the way Kmetty plays with form and perspective. It’s like he’s asking, "What does it mean to really see a place?" It’s this ongoing dialogue, this beautiful conversation across time.