Vase with flowers 1935

Sirak Skitnik, sometime in the early 20th century, made this painting with oil on canvas. Look at the dynamic brushstrokes! He’s gone in with big blocks of moody blues and grays, then punctuated it all with these gentle pink floral forms. I bet he was standing close, moving fast, trying to catch the light just so… Imagine the studio—the smell of oil paint, the tension in the air as he tries to capture something fleeting. There’s such a great mix of softness and angularity here. The way he defines the vase with these bold yellow outlines, it’s almost like he’s daring the painting to fall apart. Skitnik’s got this Cubist-lite thing going on that reminds me of other artists of his time, all trying to break down form and see the world anew. Artists are always talking to each other, even across time, riffing on the same themes. Ultimately, this painting is an invitation to slow down and notice the beauty in a humble vase of flowers.