Na popravu 1930s

Cyprián Majerník made this watercolor, Na popravu, with thin washes of browns, greens, and blues that let the paper breathe. Just imagine Majerník outside with his simple kit and jar of water, quickly capturing the light and mood of this open field. It's a scene with two figures on horseback flanking four standing men. I wonder what story Majerník is trying to tell? What’s happening here? There is a loose, sketched quality to the whole thing, a freedom of mark-making that gives the scene a dreamlike quality. The brown brushstrokes of the horses are watery, kind of melting into the ground. The standing figures are more upright and static. It makes me think of Goya. This guy Majerník, who died so young, was part of that expressionist generation of artists who were trying to capture not just what they saw, but how they felt. He was in conversation with other artists, but filtering it through his own experiences. That's what being an artist is all about, right? Listening, learning, and then speaking in your own voice.