Vajda Lajos Rákmaszk 1939 1939

Vajda Lajos’ 'Rákmaszk' was made in 1939, and just look at the brown ink crisscrossing to form this crab-like mask. You can almost see the artist's hand moving across the page, each stroke building up this strange, almost haunted image. I can imagine Lajos hunched over his table, wrestling with his demons, trying to make sense of the world through the act of drawing. The ink is thin, scratchy, and the lines are so alive. It reminds me of the surrealists, but also of folk art, and the raw power of outsider art. The way the lines converge and diverge, creating depth and texture, it's really something. And those teeth! The whole thing is both disturbing and strangely beautiful. It's like he's channeling something ancient and primal, and I see echoes of other artists who dared to explore the darker sides of the human psyche, like Ensor or Kubin. That’s what art is all about, this ongoing conversation. Each artist building on what came before, grappling with the same questions in their own way.