Uncle Piacsek dresser in front of the black. 1906

Jozsef Rippl-Ronai painted this scene of two old men in front of a table, probably with oil. Look at how the image emerges through these deliberate yet casual brushstrokes! The artist’s hand is so present, it’s like you can feel the weight of his brush and see him wrestling with the composition. I see the table, the decanter, the wine glasses, and the faces of the two figures are constructed from simple daubs of color. The painting is a conversation between the visible and the hidden. It is like Rippl-Ronai is having a conversation with artists from the past and future, riffing on the language of painting itself. Each stroke a response, a question, an assertion. Rippl-Ronai’s handling of paint reminds us that art is not just about representation but about expression. And like any good conversation, it’s open to interpretation, change, and the unexpected.