Orfeova Smrt 1937

Emil Filla made "Orfeova Smrt" with oil on canvas, but when is anyone's guess! There’s a rawness to the brushstrokes here, a kind of urgent need to get the image out, like the story can’t wait to be told. I see the artist wrestling with the paint, trying to pin down these figures and emotions. There's a tension between the wild, expressive brushwork and the muted, almost somber palette. Look at the way Filla renders the animalistic frenzy at the bottom of the canvas, all jagged edges and muddy tones, yet there are pockets of bright, almost gaudy floral shapes nestled in between. The top of the canvas has a totally different feel, full of expressive figures, drawn with a thinner brush and wild, gestural marks. There’s a kinship between Filla’s approach and Picasso’s explorations of form and emotion, but Filla has his own thing going on. It’s less about breaking down forms and more about laying bare the raw, untamed emotions that pulse beneath the surface.