Portrait of a Woman 1924

Ivan Mrkviсka made this portrait of a woman in oil on canvas and it's a rather muted affair. The strokes are blended, but still visible as a kind of soft geometry. I wonder what Mrkviсka was thinking as he painted her? Maybe about aging, maybe just trying to capture her likeness with a quiet dignity. I bet he mixed a lot of grays and blacks for this one. Look at the darks of her dress, like a void, and the light on her face, holding so much knowledge. The vase there to the left, the way it's painted, is totally different, so fluid. It reminds me of Manet, with that contrast between the studied portrait and the looser background. It’s like Mrkviсka is in conversation with other painters, riffing on their ideas. It's all one big conversation, art. I love it.