Fat Thursday 1930

Tadeusz Makowski painted "Fat Thursday" with oil on canvas, and the whole thing feels like a half-remembered dream, doesn’t it? The way he builds up the paint, it's not about hiding the process, but reveling in it. There’s a real physicality to the paint, thick in some areas, almost translucent in others. The surface is cracked, like an old fresco, but it adds to the charm, like it has been loved. I’m drawn to the figure on the right, with the blue halo. The rough strokes that form his body; they feel so immediate, so raw. The color palette is warm and earthy, yet those pops of blue, and white, feel like a burst of joy. Makowski’s style reminds me a bit of some early Picassos, that same playful distortion of form. But Makowski has a folksy, almost naive quality that's all his own. Ultimately, it's not about what it is, but how it makes you feel, right?