Black Warrior 1940

Cyprián Majerník painted this oil on canvas, Black Warrior, and it feels like it was made with urgency. Look at the dark, earthy tones meeting these strokes of white, like hesitant highlights. He must have built this up, layer by layer, each stroke a decision, a question. I wonder what he was thinking, standing before the canvas? Was he trying to capture a figure, or was he trying to capture something more? The brown paint is applied in blocks and feels very solid, like a foundation for something, yet the application is very loose, and the forms feel like they are just emerging. And that red! It’s like a pulse, a quick, almost violent mark. It’s brave, you know? Makes you wonder about the warrior he’s depicting. The way Majerník put it down is just so raw. It reminds me how painting is just a constant back-and-forth, a dialogue across time. We build on each other, steal from each other, and keep the conversation going.