Death of the Commissar 2008

Alexander Roitburd made this painting, *Death of the Commissar*, using oil on canvas, though when exactly is a mystery. There's a chaotic energy here, right? The paint is applied in thick, impasto layers, like he's wrestling with the canvas. Look at the way the figures emerge from this swirling mass of browns, yellows, and whites. It’s almost like they're ghosts, fading in and out of view. The most striking part is the legs striding out of the canvas, those luminous yellow legs. They feel both powerful and vulnerable, like the artist is trying to capture a sense of movement. It reminds me of Francis Bacon, but with a frenetic, almost desperate energy. You get the sense that Roitburd is grappling with history, memory, and the weight of the past. It's a reminder that art doesn't always have to be neat or tidy, it can be messy, ambiguous, and full of contradictions.