Masquerade in the dark 1931

Tadeusz Makowski made this painting, with its sombre browns and reds, sometime in the early 20th century. It feels like the artist has constructed a world from blocks of color. I can imagine Makowski building up the surface, almost like he's carving it. See how the paint is applied in these thick, deliberate strokes. The palette is so limited, mostly browns and oranges, which creates this sense of enclosure and mystery. It’s like the figure is emerging from the shadows. The artist’s touch is so present, so physical. That hat! It’s like a weird halo, or a thought bubble. And the way the figure is holding a piece of paper and a stylus makes me wonder what they’re writing. Is it a love letter? A confession? Maybe Makowski is in conversation with other artists like Cezanne, who also tried to capture form and space in new ways. It feels like there is an ongoing conversation, across time, as each artist puts their own experiences and ideas into the mix.