Self-Portrait 1932

Mikuláš Galanda made this self-portrait with oil paint, and I’m immediately drawn to how he builds up the image, like piecing together fragmented thoughts. There’s a real materiality to Galanda’s touch. The paint isn't trying to hide itself. You can see each stroke, each decision he made. Look closely at how he models the planes of his face. The dabs of ochre and brown that make up his cheek, the way he suggests the light hitting his brow – it's all there on the surface, a kind of map of how he saw himself. The colors are earthy, a restrained palette of blues and browns, which gives the painting a kind of quiet intensity. It reminds me a little of Cezanne, that same commitment to seeing, to the act of building form through color. But Galanda brings his own sensibility, his own sense of self. This painting feels so personal, so intimate. It's an invitation to look, to see, and maybe to understand something about the artist, but also about ourselves. Art, after all, is an ongoing conversation.